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The Vancouver trio Hey Ocean! describes its music as “classic pop,” which is pretty apt. It’s not so much that the band takes a retro approach to crafting pop music; rather, the songs on its 2013 album <i>Is</i> sound inspired by classical music. “If I Were a Ship” opens with flawless vocal harmonies orbiting around frontwoman Ashleigh Ball’s playful voice. The song’s changes feel more like studied movements punctuated by a layered orchestration of sounds. Conversely, “Make a New Dance Up” moves with quirkier parts and peppy melodies to create something that recalls the cosmopolitan pop sophistication of an Ivy recording. The pedaling rhythms and neon keyboard hooks give “Big Blue Wave” a danceable feel, as Ball’s bandmates David Vertesi and David Beckingham craft a well-tailored backdrop that plays as if melody were the band’s first language. Ball lets one of her male bandmates take the mic in the post-punk tinged “Jolene,” which shifts gears smoothly before “New Love” refines power-pop hooks into a lush backdrop of barbed song hooks softened by soaring harmonies.

via Apple Music

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