Written by: Jen Dan
A message from The Ocean Party:
“It is with great sadness and a very heavy heart that we must announce the passing of our beautiful friend and brother Zachary Levi Denton. Zac was admitted to St. Vincents hospital on Sunday evening with a migraine which after brain scans was realised to be related to a cyst blocking the fluids from draining from his brain. The doctors did what they could to relieve the fluid but swelling of the brain was too much.
Zac came to Melbourne from Wagga Wagga in 2012 as a fresh faced 18 year old to join the Ocean Party. He was welcomed with open arms and was an integral member of the band in no time. His warmth and charm was quick to infect so many people. As a songwriter in The Ocean Party, as well as Ciggie Witch, Pregnancy, and Hobby Farm, Zac’s direct and honest lyricism affected those who could relate to his struggles with day to day life.
Although just 24 years old, he released more than 10 albums and has much more material that will see the light of day in the coming year.
The latest Ocean Party album, The Oddfellows’ Hall, features two of Zacs most beautiful songs to date in “Home” and “Rain On Tin”. They reflect on his love for his family and his home town and a desire to let them know the love felt towards them.
In honour of his passing we have decide to release The Oddfellows’ Hall early and make it free to download for anyone who would like to hear it.
We love you Zac and you will forever be with us!”
At the request of the band, Jen and Stew of Emotional Response record label have made the new LP downloadable for free at their Bandcamp site: https://emotional-response-recs.bandcamp.com/album/the-oddfellows-hall
The Pregnancy LP is also a free download, which was one of Zac’s many other projects that he fronted: https://emotional-response-recs.bandcamp.com/album/urgency
“Please go listen. Share it with your friends. Celebrate Zac’s music. He was a beautiful, gentle, and talented man. We treasure the time we got to spend in his company.” – Jen and Stew X
Long-running, beloved Australian classic pop band The Ocean Party have come ashore again with its 8th album, The Oddfellows’ Hall, which is out now via American record label Emotional Response (and via Spunk Records in Australia and New Zealand).
Stewart Anderson and Jenn Turrell, the indie rock veterans of Boyracer and so many other cool bands, run Emotional Response. They and Stereo Embers are proud to premiere the LP in its entirety.
The Ocean Party consists of 6 life-long friends who shape their life experiences into reflective to bittersweet, upbeat, and insightful songs. Each member is going through the tumult of their late twenties in all its struggle and glory. Parenthood, relationship break-ups, self-realization, emigration and a return to the homeland, and finding a place in the world are all topics of discussion.
The thoughtful lyrics are wrapped up in gentle and shining jangle pop guitars, shimmering rhythms, and at times twangy guitar curls and shivery strings. Certain members switch up on lead vocals, adding subdued to earnest to direct harmonies, and more stylistic variation to the album’s tracks.
The LP was recorded at The Oddfellows’ Hall, an 1880s wooden-floored community center that the band discovered while on tour. The place is located in the rural New South Wales of Yass and the members had a special affinity for it because many of them went to high school in rural Australia.
Dive deep into The Ocean Party’s musical and personal worlds that are sure to strike a chord with those in their twenties and upwards.
Find out more about The Ocean Party:
https://www.facebook.com/theoceanparty
