Countless times I've fallen asleep to the appropriately-titled Oceanic by the strangely-named Raspberry Jam. Subconsciously, I have even made myself exhausted by just reviewing the album (classical conditioning). The album appropriately fades in and you're tranquilized by the pulsing beats, droning guitars, and the lush vocals of Destiny and you realize why the album was named Oceanic. The transient beats continue during most of the tracks, but never lose the hypnotic effect. There is definitely warmth found throughout with the help of a soothing voice and lulling reverb.
"Can I" has the feel of Til Tuesday with Destiny's similar vocals. Each note carries out into an elongated drone along with her voice that leads into a chorus of noise close to Morella's Forest. "One More Time" consists of an eerie, reverbed riff that leads into an unexpected distortion that sounds like some Helmet riff. Phillip Kim appears this time, sounding like Layne Staley (Alice in Chains), which actually works here. However, it is Destiny's angelic voice over the haunting sounds that attracts me the most. The blend of unearthly guitar notes and ghostly vocals floating over them is frequent during Oceanic. The synthesizers also add a sense of drifting and continue the aquatic feel to the album.
The song "Oceanic" uses keyboards to give the sound that you are traveling underwater and again utilizes Phillip's expressive, but toned down voice. Like many of the other tracks, "Oceanic" builds into a strong chorus, which becomes almost theatrical like a Savior Machine song. The end of "Oceanic" even has screaming voices muffled like the wind, which keeps with the effects they use throughout. There is no change in the mood until the opening of "Burns Like Fire," but even then a subtlety takes over during the verse.
Overall, the album is quite comparable to the Cure's Disintegration. If you happen to put Oceanic on as you lay in bed, chances are you will not reach the fourth song. I'm actually still not that familiar with the last few songs on the LP.
Other coverage for this album
The Lighthouse September 1995Reviewed by Beth BlinnRaspberry Jam made somewhat of a splash a few years ago, with their appearance at the Cornerstone New Band Stage. This was followed by their debut album, Chi-Rho, released on Metro One in 1993. A mixture of funky jams and acoustic interludes, it's a fun ride that deals with its lyrical themes (God, racism and materialism, among others) in a fairly straight-forward manner. It makes great…Similar sounding releases
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