What do you get when you put ex-members of progressive metal band Cynic with members of atmospheric black metal band Dodecahedron? Not what you would expect.

Our Oceans is a post-rock band in which Tymon (ex-Cynic) lulls us with his soothing melodic voice, which we really aren’t used to. Behind his voice and his guitar work is a silky smooth fretless bass playing jazzy lines and drums that put the emphasis on the ambient side of things: painting the background with cymbals over slow odd time signatures and polyrhythms.

Over the course of the album, there is some variety to the sound, but in all it’s a very focused, tight record. Their vision of creating, basically, a progressive ambient singer-songwriter band is thus achieved marvellously. You’ll get the same vibe as Portal (the Cynic side project), although better realized, in my opinion. That being said, “Endless Endeavors” is a masterpiece of a song and is not dethroned, but as a whole, Our Oceans does a much better job at scratching that particular itch.

In conclusion, it is a great ambient jazz album that you will be able to play at any event – a dinner, family reunion, fancy soirée – and not piss off anyone. It is truly a sublime work.