The Stills: Oceans Will Rise

Getting a bullseye after your first shot may seem like a grand idea, but every arrow thereafter elicits the retort "It's okay I guess, but the other one was better".

Having blasted the centre on shot one ("Logic Will Break Your Heart") and having accidentally killed one of the competition judges with the errant strike of "Without Feathers", it doesn't take a genius to work out where "Oceans Will Rise" will land. As always, somewhere in the middle.

"Oceans Will Rise" is at its very heart, a very schizophrenic beast. Tracks veer from desperate experimentalism one minute to crowd-pleasing blueprint-rock the next. On the more straightforward tracks this is especially noticeable, as suddenly, without rhyme or reason, the soundscape is flipped on its head, no matter how ill-fitting and forced the result.

In this regard, "Being Here" - clear holder of the album anthem award - takes a total of zero chances until the jarring bridge section and the inexplicable presence of tribal drums on the fade-out. Elsewhere, trumpet sections, inappropriate guitar solos and bizarre genre hops take place with reckless abandon.

All of this only serves to reinforce the idea that The Stills have little idea as to which direction they are heading. Radio-friendly tracks are issued forth to bring the people in, and then on the remainder of the album, ideas are scattershot across the plains in the vague hope that something will hit and provide them with a way to set their bearings to.

Sadly for the band, most of the highlights are the moments where they veer closely to "Logic Will Break Your Heart", rendering their inspirational sonar approach somewhat redundant.

To their credit, there are few tracks which fail completely, with the possible exception of album opener "Don't Talk Down". There is not a single redeeming feature about this one. From the odious skanking rhythm to the barely registering vocal performance, it's a song which should have been aborted when it was just a mere twinkle in the eye of The Stills.

Despite being inherently confused, consider this a fairly substantial course-correction for The Stills. They might be hitting that bullseye again one day soon.