{"id":75341,"date":"2019-01-22T14:00:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T14:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=75341"},"modified":"2019-01-21T20:15:57","modified_gmt":"2019-01-21T20:15:57","slug":"review-river-becomes-ocean-a-motion-paralysed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-river-becomes-ocean-a-motion-paralysed\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: River Becomes Ocean \u2013 A Motion Paralysed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"‘A Motion Paralysed’<\/em>\u00a0is the debut full-length album from Brighton’s\u00a0River Becomes Ocean<\/strong>, a post-hardcore four-piece with the distinction of bringing to the genre an eclectic ensemble of influences including film soundtracks<\/a>\u00a0and various guises of rock \u2013 not just from the heavier side of things, either.<\/p>\n

The sonic balance of the record gives precedence to songcraft and depth over brute force, an angle hinted at on previous EPs but much more fully developed here with the band clearly maturing and growing. Still, most tracks are anchored in recognisable conventions of hardcore and metal, the keyboards, strings and atmospherics padding out walls of guitars and robust rhythms.<\/p>\n

Yet the best, and at times, surprisingly affecting moments come courtesy of\u00a0River Becomes Ocean<\/strong>‘s\u00a0propensity to expand. A two-minute instrumental opener\u00a0manages to be so much more than just that \u2013\u00a0‘Brighton’<\/em>‘s teasing restraint of soft piano chords and slow build could be something off a Coldplay record, and it’s executed with the sort of aplomb you’d expect from a band on their seventh album, not first.<\/p>\n