We Are the Ocean

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We Are the Ocean
We Are the Ocean performing at the Guildhall Arts Centre in Gloucester in August 2011
Background information
Origin	Loughton, Essex, England
Genres	Alternative rock pop punk indie rock post-hardcore
Years active	2007–2017, 2022
Labels	Hassle, SideOneDummy
Members	Liam Cromby Alfie Scully Jack Spence Tom Whittaker
Past members	Dan Brown
Website	wearetheocean.co.uk

We Are the Ocean are an English rock band from Loughton, Essex. Its members are guitarist and vocalist Liam Cromby, bass guitarist Jack Spence, guitarist Alfie Scully, and drummer Tom Whittaker. They are signed to Hassle Records in the United Kingdom and SideOneDummy Records in the United States.

The band has released four albums: Cutting Our Teeth in 2010, Go Now and Live in 2011, Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow in 2012, and Ark in 2015.

Dan Brown and Jack Spence were both formerly in the band named Dead But Still Dreaming. Following the band's dissolution, Brown and Spence formed a new band under the same name, recruiting Liam Cromby, Rickie Bloom, and Tom Whittaker by 2007. Shortly after, they rebranded as We Are the Ocean. Bloom soon left the band and was replaced by Alfie Scully.

The band became better known through MySpace and was nominated for Kerrang! Best British Newcomer and were voted K! Readers Poll's 2nd Best Unsigned UK Band.^[1] They released their debut EP entitled We Are the Ocean in 2008, selling 1000 limited edition copies in one day.

We Are the Ocean have toured the UK, Europe, the US, and Australia. The band played festivals including the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festival, Download Festival, and were invited to play at The Bamboozle festival in New Jersey, USA, one of the largest alternative/punk festivals in the world.^[1]

We Are the Ocean started writing material for their debut album around December 2008. The album was produced by Brian McTernan at Salad Days Studio in Baltimore, USA. The album was due to be released in Summer 2009 but, for unknown reasons, was delayed a number of times before its eventual release on 1 February 2010.^[2][3]

The band re-released Cutting Our Teeth in October 2010 as a deluxe edition with a second disc, featuring their limited edition debut EP and four unheard tracks which received positive feedback from critics.^[4]

The band recorded their second album, Go Now and Live, with Pete Miles.^[5] The album's singles "What It Feels Like", "The Waiting Room" and "Runaway" were all playlisted on Radio 1, in addition to a number of other radio and television stations. The album reached number 45 in the charts in its first week.

On 1 March 2012, We Are the Ocean announced that they would be entering the studio in May to record their third full-length album. On 5 June 2012, it was announced on their Facebook page that the band had parted ways with frontman Dan Brown, who would instead be pursuing a career as a band manager. Cromby became the primary vocalist.^[6][7]

Their third studio album Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow was released in the UK on 17 September 2012.

On 30 March 2013, We Are the Ocean performed at Radstock Festival.^[8]

Under new management,^[9] the band recorded their fourth album, ARK, in the summer of 2014 and released an eponymous teaser single at the end of the year.^[10] They recorded a BBC Live Lounge session and played an acoustic version of the track along with a cover of London Grammar's 'Hey Now,'^[11] which led to BMG/Infectious signing the band.^[12] ARK was released on 11 May 2015.

We Are The Ocean embarked on a tour to support their new album. In early 2016, the band was dropped by their label for undisclosed reasons. On 18 January 2017, We Are the Ocean announced their disbandment and a farewell tour through Europe in February and March. ^{[citation needed]}

On 15 July 2022, the band issued a statement on Facebook about their reunion. They announced their first live show in five years, on 15 October in London's Omeara Venue.

Current members

• Liam Cromby – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano (2007–2017, 2022)
• Alfie Scully – lead guitar (2007–2017, 2022); vocals (2012–2017, 2022)
• Jack Spence – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–2017, 2022)
• Tom Whittaker – drums, percussion (2007–2017, 2022)

Former members

• Dan Brown – lead vocals (2007–2012)

Timeline

• "Save Me! Said the Saviour" (2007)
• "Nothing Good Has Happened Yet" (2008)
• "Welcome to My Broken Home"^[20]
• "Look Alive" (2009)
• "All of This Has to End" (2010)
• "These Days I Have Nothing" (2010)
• "Lucky Ones" (2010)
• "Waiting Room" (2011)
• "Runaway" (2011)
• "What It Feels Like" (2011)
• "Overtime Is a Crime" (2011)
• "The Road" (2012)
• "Young Heart" (2012)
• "Machine" (17 April 2013)
• "Chin Up, Son" (5 September 2013)
• "Holy Fire" (2015)
• "Do It Together" (2015)
• "Good For You" (2015)
• "Hey Now" (2015)
• "The Pretender (Foo Fighters cover)" (2015)