by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
About two weeks ago Oceanator shared “Heartbeat,” the third and final single from their upcoming full length debut, Things I Never Said and now it has a video. The highly anticipated album, out this Friday, August 28th via Plastic Miracles captures Elise Okusami’s songwriting at it’s best, a strong effort that sits between pop, rock, fuzzy punk, and alternative radio gold. We featured “Heartbeat” on a recent Fuzzy Meadows, claiming “the immediately upbeat song opens with a frantic power-pop riff (the kind that could be skate punk if played dirtier) but Okusami remains cool and rooted in control. There’s a sense of 90’s pop punk that blends with something a bit more retro, but it’s the little nuances to the song, the quick but effective harmonies, the modulated bridge, and the tempo shifts where Oceanator always glows.”
The video, directed by David Combs and Ben Epstein, is every bit as delightful as the song itself, opening with the same magnetic energy as we find Okusami seemingly lost and looking for companionship. She finds it eventually in the form of herself, quite literally, as she joins herself at a bus stop, and then again in a field, with ten of more copies, al rocking out, all enjoying each other’s company. There’s a brilliant barbershop quartet moment, cool animation, and enough smiles to keep you going throughout your day.
Speaking about the song, Okusami shared:
“This song is loosely about having a crush, and both the grounding feeling and the anxiety that feeling brings. We recorded it all together like a live performance, and then I went back and added the lead guitars and the vocals. Guitar and vocals by me, bass Eva Lawitts (they), drums Aaron Silberstein (he)."