On our trip to America–yes, we’re finally home, still fighting the jet lag–I “discovered” a “new” worship band, Young Oceans.  It appears to be less a band and more the project of a single songwriter, Eric Marshall.  The project is associated with Trinity Grace Church of New York City.

Wikipedia describes the project as “meditative art rock” and “alternative worship”.  They actually remind me a LOT of one of my favorite 90’s bands, Live (of “Lightning Crashes” fame.) Several of Young Oceans’ songs are taken directly from the Throwing Copper playbook.

But it’s very good.  Atmospheric, with all the Sigur Ros / Coldplay touches, some excellent lyrics, etc.

The Wikipedia entry for the project links to several good sources.  And here’s a review of their first album, from 2012.  (That’s why I put the word “new” in quotation marks in the title; this project has been around, I just hadn’t noticed it before.)

The news that exciting things are cooking among artists of faith in metro New York City should come as no surprise to fans of the eccentric Asthmatic Kitty record label, home to Sufjan Stevens and The Welcome Wagon. Further evidence comes in the form of Young Oceans, a worship collective formed out of the Trinity Grace Church, which has seven neighborhood churches in NYC, under the leadership of senior pastor and author Jon Tyson (Rumors of God).

Young Oceans is a collection of original worship songs birthed from these gatherings, and as befits the progressive nature of the church, these tunes are atypical, atmospheric, and above all, authentic, ten deliberately understated songs with a deceptively passionate core. The common thread here is an unconventional approach to song structure coupled with … (read more)