REVIEW

The debut album from Canadian dark post-rock/grungegaze band Oceans Under Stars.

Centered around Barrett Klesko (guitar/vocals) and Jonathan Webster (drums), Oceans Under Stars is a collaborative project that expands into a four-piece with the addition of guitar and bass for live performances. Barrett previously explored contrasting musical directions through the metalcore band All Else Fails and the ambient project The Secret Places of the Earth. Jonathan, meanwhile, has built a diverse background as a drummer, spanning heavy metal, progressive rock, and jazz through Striker, The Tylor Dory Trio, and Degenerator.

Drawing on those experiences, the duo channels them into a form of shoegaze that blends introspective passages rooted in ambient and post-rock with crushing waves of heaviness, crafting a sound centered on themes of loss and solitude. The balance between melancholic, heavy guitars and ethereal vocals recalls SOM and Trauma Ray, while the chugging guitar riffs reveal a distinctly metal-oriented edge. As a result, the album should also resonate with listeners who appreciate the atmospheric progressive and doom metal of mid-era Katatonia and Swallow the Sun.

#7 “Be Still (My Love)” perfectly embodies Oceans Under Stars' distinctive fusion of introspective beauty and heaviness. Its gradual ascent from an ambient opening into a towering chorus, combined with vocals that shift effortlessly from whispers to emotionally charged singing, heightens the dynamic contrast between calm and intensity. On #2 “Of Dust and Memory,” rich baritone vocals intertwine with expressive lead guitar melodies, evoking the gothic sensibilities of Type O Negative and Paradise Lost. Elsewhere, the djent-inspired riffs of #6 “The Stars are Out of Sight” and the tribal rhythms reminiscent of TOOL in #8 “Whispering of the Storm” showcase approaches rarely heard in conventional shoegaze.

These progressive and metallic elements reflect the members' extensive musical backgrounds while highlighting the remarkable depth of Canada's shoegaze scene.

The band also toured Japan in June 2026. Having seen them perform live, I found their performance even more powerful than the studio recordings, captivating the audience from start to finish. Another memorable aspect of the show was the guitarist's layered backing vocals, which created mesmerizing harmonies that further enhanced the band's signature sense of depth and atmosphere.

The biggest surprise came when they performed a cover of Type O Negative's “Love You to Death,” unmistakably confirming an influence that had already been apparent throughout the album. Jonathan's admiration for Chelsea Wolfe and Emma Ruth Rundle—also evident from the music videos for “Walking in Shadows” and “Smoking in Church,” respectively—likely contributes to the band's gothic aesthetic.

In recent years, bands such as SOM, Split Chain, and Graywave have openly acknowledged the influence of Type O Negative. This album stands as another compelling example of the growing connection between gothic music and modern shoegaze.