Radiohead named themselves after a song by the Talking Heads and Blonde Redhead after a song by DNA, but Lost Ocean named themselves after two songs on an earlier set list under the name Idee Fixe. The Bakersfield, CA quartet recorded their album with Nathan Dantzler at at Castle Recording Studio (Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Devendra Banhart) in Franklin, TN.

Piano-rock is getting more and more popular these days, especially towards the pop side of the spectrum. Newer bands and artists like Ben Folds, Keane and Something Corporate are all just popular picks of the ever-increasing litter. So aside from containing a piano, what does Lost Ocean sound really like?

A bit of Keane can be heard here vocally, but closer comparisons can be heard to modern pop-rock than the aforementioned artists. Trendy vocal morosity is side-stepped for the most part, but the melodies don't suffer from superficiality at all. Notes scoop melancholy and drop them off seconds later, making it hard to pin down a mood. Falsetto harmonies sweetly paired with lofty and assured melodies make vocals a prominent part of each song. And even when pianos -- often with effects -- are nearly always rolling, stabbing or thundering in the mix, the guitars are clearly responsible for overall song structure. Riffs are plenty, and guitars are crisp and distinct, not favoring either the ambient trickles or thickly distorted chords they emit. The drums are imaginative in a few areas of the album, but more or less keep their head down and support the rest of the music as they should. This caliber of canned performance leaves a band with big shoes to fill live.

It's pretty obvious by the execution of the album that the man behind the boards knew his stuff. I mean, he's got a great track record, but while folk music is candidly rougher and less polished, this one needed a producer's sheen. This album boasts of a great synergy between the producer and artist which aims itself at a large audience, easily to please listeners of Dredg, Keane, Mew, Circa Survive and Days Away alike.