The Underground Sounds Of America: The End Of The Ocean

One needs only to hear The End Of The Ocean to understand their band name. The Columbus, Ohio-based instrumental post-rock quintet create music that shimmers and swells with heartfelt emotion, its dreamy guitars and patient rhythms creating a musical landscape that the heart feels it has seen in its more peaceful moments. And though the band’s songs crescendo into heaviness and raw power, they do so in a way that feels organic and mature. When your music sounds this much like watching a sunset, you’re allowed to name yourself after the horizon.

The band has remained relatively silent since the release of their critically-acclaimed 2011 album Pacific*Atlantic, which bristled with a noise rock edge. Now, the band has written a follow-up, titled -aire, which trades the band’s early electronic beats and acerbic angst with a more elemental and self-assured type of emotional music. But no matter how much your sound has progressed, seven years is no joke, and the End Of The Ocean are aware that their emotional journey included discovering they had room to grow.

“After we released our follow up EP, In Excelsis, in 2012, we hit the road hard, lost a bit of steam, and subsequently took time to get our priorities in line,” says The End Of The Ocean. “We would say our music is a bit more straightforward and furious in parts of our new album -aire. Not sure if that is growth necessarily, but anger is an energy and we used it while we searched for some catharsis during the writing process.”

An interesting aspect to The End Of The Ocean is their desire to speak as a unit and be represented as a whole rather than by individual members. Whether it’s their lack of a lead singer (and the inflated sense of self that role often brings) or the type of music they play, the band shows no ego in pointing out individual accomplishments, instead chalking up their unified sound to a desire to be true to every member’s heart.

“We each individually pull emotion from our own personal lives and experiences,” says the band. “Our collective experiences translate into a whole that in the end is greater than the sum of our parts.”

Hypnotized by the changing colors of the band’s sound, we reached out to the End Of The Ocean to find out a little of what goes on behind the sunset.

1) If you had to play one The End Of The Ocean song for a new listener to introduce them to the band, which one would it be and why?

We Always Think There Is Going To Be More Time…, from our full-length album Pacific•Atlantic. It encompasses our general sound and feel as a band. We lose our minds every single time we perform this song live.

2) Name your greatest musical influences.

1. Kevin: Third Eye Blind, CKY
2. Trish: Thrice
3. Jason: Opeth
4. Wes: Deftones
5. Tara: Carman, the famous Christian singer, especially his song Lazarus Come Forth.

3) What is your biggest hobby other than music?

For Wes, it’s motorcycles and disc golf. For Jason, it’s Manchester United, disc golf (Toss is Lyfe), and collecting heavy metal records. For Kevin, it’s shooting, building electronics, and adopting a million cats. For Trish, it’s sleeping, spending time with my cat, playing Euchre and hanging out with my friends. For Tara, it’s reading and playing pool.

4) Who would be on the The End Of The Ocean’s dream tour?

Bruce Springsteen, Smashing Pumpkins, Die Antwoord, NIN, Deftones.

5) Would you say being from Columbus has informed The End Of The Ocean’s music?

No, it’s just made a few of us talk funny. Luckily, we don’t have a singer in the band.

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The End Of The Ocean’s new album -aire comes out Friday, January 18th, on Equal Vision Records and Rude Records. Purchase it here.

WORDS: Chris Krovatin

PHOTO: Bee Gats