| We Are the Ocean | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Loughton, Essex, England |
| Years Active: | 2007 - 2017, 2022 |
| Label: | Hassle, SideOneDummy |
| Current Members: |
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| Past Members: |
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We Are the Ocean are an English rock band from Loughton, Essex, consisting of guitarist, vocalist Liam Cromby, bass guitarist Jack Spence, guitarist Alfie Scully and drummer Tom Whittaker. They are signed to Hassle Records in the United Kingdom and SideOneDummy Records in the United States. The band has released four albums: Cutting Our Teeth in 2010, Go Now and Live in 2011, Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow in 2012, and Ark in 2015.
Dan Brown and Jack Spence were both formerly in a band named Dead But Still Dreaming. Following the band's dissolution, the two sought to form a new band under the same name, recruiting Liam Cromby, Rickie Bloom, and Tom Whittaker by 2007. Shortly after the creation of this line-up, the band decided on a new start with the name We Are the Ocean. Bloom soon left the band and was replaced by Alfie Scully.
The band quickly shot to prominence thanks to MySpace and was nominated for Kerrang! Best British Newcomer and were voted K! Readers Poll's 2nd Best Unsigned UK Band.[1] They released their debut EP entitled We Are the Ocean in 2008, selling 1000 limited edition copies in 1 day.
We Are the Ocean have toured the UK, Europe, the US, and Australia. They have played festivals including the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festival, Download Festival, and were one of the few UK bands invited to play at Bamboozle festival in New Jersey, USA, one of the largest alternative/punk festivals in the world.[1]
We Are the Ocean started writing material for their debut album around December 2008. The album was produced by Brian McTernan at Salad Days Studio in Baltimore, USA. They were originally aiming for a Summer 2009 release, but for unknown reasons, the album release date was delayed many times from November,[2] then pushed back again to 25 January 2010, and finally pushed back to 1 February 2010.[3] [4]
The band re-released Cutting Our Teeth in October 2010 as a deluxe edition with a second disc, featuring their limited edition debut EP and four unheard tracks. The re-release received positive feedback from critics.[5]
We Are the Ocean recorded their second album, Go Now and Live, with Pete Miles.[6] The album's singles "What It Feels Like", "The Waiting Room" and "Runaway" were all playlisted on Radio 1, and received heavy rotation on many radio and television stations. The album reached number 45 in the chart in its first week.
On 1 March 2012, We Are the Ocean announced that they would be entering the studio in May to record their third full-length album. On 5 June 2012, it was announced on their Facebook page that the band had parted ways with frontman Dan Brown, who would instead be pursuing a career as a band manager. Cromby became the primary vocalist.[7] [8]
Their third studio album Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow was released in the UK on 17 September 2012.
On 30 March 2013 We Are the Ocean performed at Radstock Festival.[9]
Under new management,[10] the band recorded their fourth album, ARK, in the summer of 2014 and released an eponymous teaser single at the end of the year.[11] They recorded a BBC Live Lounge session and played an acoustic version of the track along with a cover of London Grammar's 'Hey Now,'[12] which led to BMG/Infectious signing the band.[13] ARK was released on 11 May 2015.
After embarking on and finishing a tour to support their new album, updates on future endeavours became rare. In early 2016, the band was dropped by their label for undisclosed reasons. Later that year, they asked for pictures from past concerts on Facebook. On 18 January 2017, We Are the Ocean announced their disbandment and a farewell tour through Europe in February and March. {{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}
On July 15, 2022, the band issued a statement on Facebook about their reunion. They announced their first live show in five years, on October 15 in London's Omeara Venue. The band have not confirmed if they will release new music in addition to this.
| Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [14] | UK Indie [15] | UK Rock [16] | UK Digital [17] | |||
| Cutting Our Teeth |
| 143 | — | — | — | |
| Go Now and Live |
| 45 | 5 | 3 | 40 | |
| Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow |
| 59 | — | — | — | |
| ARK |
| 73 | 13 | 4 | — | |
| Album details | |
| We Are the Ocean | |
|---|---|
| Look Alive |
|
| Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | SVK [20] | |||
| "Nothing Good Has Happened Yet" | 2008 | — | — | We Are the Ocean |
| "God Damn Good" | 2009 | — | — | |
| "Look Alive" | 2010 | — | — | Cutting Our Teeth |
| "These Days, I Have Nothing" | — | — | ||
| "All of This Has to End" | — | — | ||
| "Lucky Ones" | — | — | ||
| "What It Feels Like" | 2011 | — | 70 | Go Now and Live |
| "The Waiting Room" | — | 22 | ||
| "Runaway" | — | 45 | ||
| "Overtime Is a Crime" | — | — | ||
| "Bleed" | 2012 | — | — | Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow |
| "The Road (Run for Miles)" | — | — | ||
| "Now and Then (Acoustic)" | 2021 | — | — | Non-album single |