Oceanlux are a duo from Indiana who are straddling indie pop and subtle, ambient electro with their first EP, Versa Vice. The album goes everywhere from true indie pop to chill EDM and back again, with light, harmonious vocals and soft yet versatile synths.
The first single off of Versa Vice, released August 11, is called “Raw Love,” and it’s a brilliant introduction to Oceanlux’s pretty, haunting sound. Accompanied by a stunning lyric video, the track starts off with a hint at a possible dubstep bassline or beat, but when the track finally drops it’s much more breakbeat electro that creates its base. There is a lot of ambient break space in this track, barely a beat or synth during the verse. The synth/bass drops come at the chorus, which technically makes “Raw Love” a pop track from a compositional standpoint, but it could easily be remixed of cut up for a sunrise set on the dancefloor.
The second single is called “Bruises” and it has a similar compositional structure, but has a more steady beat than “Raw Love.” Despite the light yet quick house beat, this track listen even more like an indie pop track than “Raw Love.” Another highlight on the album is the track “Demon,” which will definitely interest bass music fans as it’s a slow, heavy version of trap. The beat structure changes with verse and chorus, but this track is much more tied to said beat than other tracks on Versa Vice.
It’s clear that someone Oceanlux is a decent beatmaker, and while it seems indie electro pop is the duo’s chosen style for the moment, tracks like “Demon” and even the beat drop structure in “Raw Love” are indications that Oceanlux may want to play with more EDM styles in the future.
Versa Vice is out now and available on Spotify, Soundcloud and iTunes.