Beloved Australian rock outfit Ocean Alley are thrilled to release their highly anticipated fourth album Low Altitude Living today. The album follows the band’s hugely successful UK Tour earlier this year, which included a sold out show at London’s iconic Roundhouse. They returned to the capital last month for a one off underplay at Lafayette, which sold out in 24 hours, before heading to Boardmasters Festival.
Low Altitude Living is available to stream and purchase HERE. You can also listen to Low Altitude Living in Spatial Audio, exclusively on Apple Music.
Produced by longtime collaborator Callum Howell, Low Altitude Living sees the six-piece construct their broadest ranging sonic framework yet, cohesively honouring the traditional features of their distinct sound, and equally give it a refreshing and exciting new edge. Across its 12 tracks, frontman Baden Donegal’s poetic lyricism communicates feelings of heartbreak, temptation and betrayal; balancing out these themes with a bright hopefulness on feel-good tracks like ‘Double Vision’ and the sensual, romantic ‘Perfume’.
Determined to constantly push their creative boundaries, the writing phase of this album saw Ocean Alley explore their musicality through an instinct and playfulness that allowed them to follow their jam sessions wherever they went. While the band have always worn the influence of 70s stalwarts such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin on their sleeves, the band have catapulted into a new frontier, guitarist Mitch Galbraith explaining “It’s all still centred around a rock guitar, but we might have gone a bit heavier in moments”
Baden says “We’ve been a band for over 10 years now. Time and growing up are going to affect who we are, and what music we are playing.” Lach Galbraith (keys/vocals) adds “Pushing each other to try new things, inside and outside of music, is really important for us to keep things fresh. Musically our songwriting has become more intricate as we explore new styles and techniques in recording. Everything we put in is thoughtful and deliberate.”
From the thickly-textured ballad ‘Drinks and Cigars’ to the layered harmonies and sax solo on ‘Simple Pleasures’, Ocean Alley’s determination for constant evolution is at the forefront of each song, paving the way for the cinematic and otherworldly ‘Lapwing’, a 6-minute opus that closes the album. This is Ocean Alley at their most free, creative and adventurous, exemplifying why they continue on their unstoppable rise as one of Australia’s most exciting musical exports.
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