Ocean Alley at Roundhouse

Psychedelic surf-rock band Ocean Alley, who hail from Australia’s Northern Beaches, have made their way to London town to play one of the capital’s most known and iconic venues, the Roundhouse. A proudly independent band, Ocean Alley has been together for over a decade, and have released four critically acclaimed studio albums during this time. With an undeniably impressive feat of two consecutive headliner shows at the Camden setting, the band are clearly on the up and continuing to expand their popularity globally. But did they bring the same level of finesse to the Roundhouse as they’ve often been credited to do?

Ocean Alley opened the night with Touch Back Down, a track from their last album that amassed over 14 million streams on Spotify alone. Enthusiastic fans greeted the band’s entrance with excited cheers and slow swaying in time to the band’s feel-good opener.

A first impression was of the evident charisma of frontman Baden Donegal. He made his way across the stage with great ease and confidently interacted with attendees, pulling out some smooth dance moves that were very well received. He donned a relaxed fit, complete with a cow-print bucket hat and trainers.

The focus stayed on Donegal for the majority of the night – being the vocal lead, this is expected, but the personalities of the rest of the band blended into one in the background, feeling more like an accompaniment for Donegal as opposed to being a part of the performance. The stage setup itself was also slightly underwhelming, and a notable downside came from the difficulty in hearing the lead guitarist who seemed to be drowned out by the rest of the band.

Ocean Alley played the sentimental Home, dedicated to their appreciation for their hometowns when they are off tour. Also included were Double Vision, a quintessential mellow number, and The Comedown, a melancholic song discussing the morning after an escapade of heavy drinking the previous night, bringing with it a feeling of disconnect from everyday life. As they progressed through the setlist, interaction with the audience seemed to decline, leaving left the room slightly restless and distracted, but engagement was redeemed when groovy Yellow Mellow and six-times platinum hit Confidence were played. Donegal turned the mic outwards and encouraged singing along, causing a rise in energy and dancing once again.

The group later showcased an unreleased track, Tangerine; with more of a funky, reggae sound, this brought a sweet twist to the numbers heard through the night.

Although the band undeniably have some great hits, their onstage presence on night one of the two-night Roundhouse stint seemed to fall short of the usual effect they tend to have on their audience – the performance needed an extra something, whether that’s interaction between the band members themselves, increased interaction with the crowd, or a more engaging stage set up with band logos visible.

It will be interesting to see what the Australian band bring out next – with a nice taste of their unreleased music included in the evening, it’s safe to say Ocean Alley have a lot in store for their fans.

Emily Downie
Photos: Nick Bennett

For further information and future events visit Ocean Alley’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Confidence here: