The past twelve months have been a huge process of change for We Are the Ocean with frontman and co-vocalist Dan Brown having left as a result of a new band dynamic being steadily brought in, as shown to the world in this week's released and utterly brilliant third album Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow.With the band rising ever-faster on the back of its release we caught up with once co-vocalist and now newly-appointed frontman Liam Cromby to find out more about the band's expanding sound, line-up change and the album itself.
R13: 'Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow' feels like a major step-up in taking the brilliance of [second album] 'Go Now And Live' and putting it into over-drive. When writing and recording the album did you feel this was going to be a big moment for the band?
LC: Going into the studio there was a sense of excitement within the band. Every time we record a new album it's a big moment for us.
R13: Was Dan's departure a creative-based one? Did the band's original creative formula begin to feel awkward in the framework of the new songs? Was this an opportunity for you to fully explore your vocal range?
LC: There were different aspects to Dan's departure. The original creative formula had been slowly changing for a while. When writing the album we all felt like that we could explore our range as musicians and really try and bring everything to the table.
R13: How was working with [producer] Peter Miles for a second time? Did he play a significant part in progressing the band's sound naturally between the two albums?
LC: It was a fantastic experience, the man is a genius. He has a great understanding of what we want to achieve in our sound.
R13: Every song on the album feels huge and it's also an eclectic affair, was it very much the plan to bring a versatile open-minded feel to the album's sound when you entered the studio or did it happen naturally?
LC: We wanted every song to stand out on its own. With the feeling that it belongs beside the other songs on the album too.
R13: What are some of the songs on the album that you're most excited to unveil?
LC :All of them!
R13: A lot of great things have been said about Machine, what's the background to that song?
LC: There are a few things tied in with Machine but it all comes down to wanting to be free. It's something I think anyone can relate to.
R13: How did [guitarist/co-vocalist] Alfie's Pass Me By come about?
LC: Pass Me By came about while in the studio. Alfie had written the chorus and played it to us and we all thought it was great so we went to work on it straight away.
R13: Lyrically, the album has an uplifting feel of breaking out of bad cycles and fighting against things or people that may cause those cycles to continue, did you want to take personal issues and feelings and make them universal and inspiring?
LC: It was never a conscious effort to make these personal feelings universal, it just played out that way.
R13: The special Itunes edition of the album features a bonus penultimate track One Of Those Days, how come that wasn't included originally and it's sequenced in a particular way?
LC: By the time we finished the album the song was incomplete, it's another song that was created while in the studio. We liked the way the album is bookended by soft acoustic songs so we felt like it would be out of place stuck on the end.
R13: You seem to be touring non-stop after the album's release, is the main agenda to get the new songs out there to as many people as possible?
LC: That's always the aim. We love to be on the road anyway so to be able to play new songs is great!
Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow is a powerful and brave record that could take the band to very high heights indeed. If you like brilliant rock songs you need this in your record collection and make sure you get your ears around bonus track One Of Those Days as well, it's a tuuuuuuuuune.