Pennsylvania dreampoppers The Ocean Blue return to DC to perform at the Howard Theatre on Friday, Sept. 8, hot off the reissue of their 1999 album Davy Jones’ Locker. With that album reissue on August 25, The Ocean Blue are taking time to celebrate it!
“It is our first truly independent release, and the first record we did entirely on our own, in our own studios with some help from friends but no outside producer or engineer,” said lead singer and songwriter David Schelzel of THE OCEAN BLUE about the wide re-release of their first post-major label album Davy Jones’ Locker (via Korda Records).
Davy Jones’ Locker was initially released in 1999 by indie label March Records in a limited run. But that didn’t prevent the legion of faithful fans who have been following the band since their inception in 1987 from elevating the release to mythic status. PopMatters said, “The band has returned in full style with Davy Jones’ Locker… ethereal, delicate, shimmering, beautiful.” Music Box quipped, “The Ocean Blue simply makes it work by building simple, supple melodies and dreamy atmospheres that swirl and surround.”
Playful, jangly, and gorgeously executed, the album is nestled perfectly in the band’s catalog and the alternative realm of ’80s legends like the Smiths and New Order, through the early Britpop of Blur, the LAs and The Trashcan Sinatras, while still sounding ahead of its time alongside modern compatriots like Cigarettes After Sex, Beach House, and Fontaines DC.
Anchored by the single “Denmark,” which enjoys a brand new video release, Davy Jones’ Locker finds the band looking back circumspectly on their history. “The first line of the song is ‘Like mist or a daydream, made of substance can you feel it?’ and it begins a lyrical trip into musings about the past, the present moment, and the future direction of the band,” David said.
The accompanying video (directed by Zeke Anders) captures the band at these figurative and literal crossroads. Set in an airport while images of the band — past and present — flash behind him, David recalled the creation of the song and how the video relates to it: “The setting of the song is the band’s tour of Denmark which marked a turning point for us, as one of the founding members of the band left right after that tour and a current member joined us. The video does an amazing job of capturing all of these themes and moods. Better to see it than explain it.”
Watch the official music video for “Denmark” by The Ocean Blue on YouTube:
A touchstone of The Ocean Blue’s continued success is their embrace of their fanbase and their live shows, and how invested they are in them. With a tour in support of the re-release of Davy Jones’ Locker, The Ocean Blue will be playing a host of shows kicking off on Labor Day weekend in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis, and hitting cities such as Washington DC, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, and concluding in Phoenix on Nov. 18.
“This tour will certainly highlight Davy Jones’ Locker, but our set will include many songs from other records,” David said. “We generally play a broad cross-section of our music, from the first record to the most recent. We often play a cover or two for fun.”
The Ocean Blue
W/ Tallies
Howard Theatre
Friday, Sept. 8
Doors @ 7pm
$25
All ages