The debut full-length effort from Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Elise Okusami
, who operates under the moniker
Oceanator
,
Things I Never Said
is a delightfully understated grunge-pop paean to the disillusionment of early adulthood.
Okusami
is a nimble pop architect who knows how to bait a hook, and her songs, which marry the riot grrrl ethos of
Sleater-Kinney
with the neatly wrapped emo-pop earworms of
Jimmy Eat World
, frequently take abrupt instrumental detours that lead the listener into new sonic headwaters. Punchy and self-assured, the nine-track set commences with the slow-burning "Goodbye, Goodnight," which morphs effortlessly into the weary power-pop gem "A Crack in the World," which evokes the breezy despondency of
Santigold
's "Lights Out" --
's characters often inhabit a world where time is running out and the notion of consequences is murky. Her guitar work is superb throughout, with bridges yielding inventive melodic turns and off-kilter sustained notes that owe a tip of the hat to the
Pixies
'
Joey Santiago
.
's fuzzed-out indie rock is versatile enough to allow for the occasional foray into motorik synth pop ("I Would Find You"), but for the most part,
operates within the D.I.Y. grunge-pop parameters of contemporaries like
Camp Cope
and
Petal
, and rewards repeated spins. ~ James Christopher Monger