Though it starts off unconvincingly, this is not a noise project. Ocean Sunbirds opens with an anonymous trudge through ambient textures but rapidly evolves into what sounds like cicadas invading a lounge compilation. Seattle's Universal Studios Florida are onto something akin to Silk Flower's project to merge a psychotropic house music with sonic textures long foreign to dance music. That's just the minute-and-a-half long first track, which is actually only the first half of a two track sequence (“Soft White Watts” into “Sun Glyphed Comanche Kissed”). That second track quickly follows with a nearly identical pattern, more harmonic nuances added, a hook suddenly emerging. Shit keeps growing on this album, and by the time we're at “Startled By Sparkling Water”, an artist named Alaskas is howling like Panda Bear in a grotto. He gives us some words on “Frozen Bayou”, too.
Universal Studios Florida, “Soft White Watts”
Universal Studios Florida, “Sun Glyphed Comanche Kissed”
Universal Studios Florida, “Frozen Bayou”
And while what we're saying is Universal Studios Florida earn the right to their ridiculous, ridiculous name, there is a separate point to be made here: trends are mean, insidious creatures, and Universal Studios Florida are poster children for the oversaturation of nature-beachy summer titlings we're seeing from Ducktails to Best Coast. Note what a concept album sort of means right now:
Ocean Sunbird track list
01 Soft White Watts
02 Sun Glyphed Comanche Kissed
03 Capri Sun Caravan
04 Startled By Sparkling Water (feat. Alaskas)
05 Ambien Fort
06 Haze Coasting
07 Moon Bungalow (feat. Blind Man's Colour)
08 Clovers, Carpet Samples
09 Frozen Bayou (feat. Alaskas)
10 Old Spooky and Moss Hut (feat. Big Spider's Back)
11 Eyedropper
12 Velvet Painting of the Stars
13 All the Lights Are On In Malibu
