Our debut album, "Long Gone and Nearly There," was released 5/27/08 by Philadelphia-based Transit of Venus Records, distributed by Redeye.  Also available via iTunes, eMusic, Amazon.  Here are some early reviews:

from All Music Guide --

Julie Ocean -- Long Gone and Nearly There – (Transit of Venus)

The target audience for this Washington D.C. pop combo doesn't need to be told that Julie Ocean isn't a female solo artist: they already have the Undertones' classic 1981 single of the same name memorized. They're also well familiar with the quartet's previous work, particularly singer/guitarist Jim Spellman's stint in much-beloved alterna-popsters Velocity Girl and fellow singer/guitarist Terry Banks' string of cult favorite twee-pop acts, including Glo-Worm, the Saturday People and Tree Fort Angst. Happily, Long Gone and Nearly There isn't a throwback, either to the mid-'90s indiepop scene or to the '80s UK records (like "Julie Ocean" itself) that directly inspired so many of those bands.

These ten songs are utterly timeless: the bracing, jangly rush of the barely two-minute opener "Ten Lonely Words" could have been recorded at any point from 1965 onwards. Crucially, however, there is no sense of retro kitsch even on the most overtly backwards-looking tracks here: "Number 1 Song" and "My Revenge" are pure sweet-tooth power pop, right down to the falsetto harmonies and the fakeout endings, but Julie Ocean are no Flamin Groovies-style genre copycats. "Here Comes Danny" is so overstuffed with clever turns of lyrical phrase, ear-grabbing production tricks and good old-fashioned hooks that its five minutes whiz past in a seeming blink, but what's most impressive about Long Gone and Nearly There is that nearly every other track on the album manages the same trick in less than three minutes flat.

Julie Ocean understand that brevity is the soul of pop, and that a perfectly constructed two-minute pop song is half as effective at twice the length. When the album's over just barely 25 minutes after it began, the only logical response is to start the whole thing over again.

-- Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

 

from ClickyClicky -- 

Review: Julie Ocean | Long Gone And Nearly There

The very idea of Julie Ocean -- that is, roughly, Velocity Girl + Glo-worm + Swiz = awesome rock band -- is so enticing that the contrarian in us almost hoped that it didn't work. But the relatively new quartet succeeds marvelously, as evidenced by the exuberant and winsome indie pop on Long Gone And Nearly There. The band's sunny sounds most obviously reference predecessor Velocity Girl, whose immensely powerful second single "My Forgotten Favorite" (which easily places among our 10 favorite songs) gave way to more traditional pop efforts further along the arc of the '90s act's career. The guitar tremelo that opens and closes Julie Ocean's anthemic "Here Comes Danny" in particular reminds us of Velocity Girl. Under the gloss, smile and "woo oohs" of "Looking At Me/Looking At Your" and "My Revenge" pulses the caffeinated energy -- and certainly the conciseness -- of mighty late '80s hardcore act Swiz, which counted among its members Julie Ocean drummer Alex Daniels.


But the overarching element of Julie Ocean's music -- broad, bright melodies delivered with an irresistible guitar-pop fizz -- overshadows the vestigial artifacts of those predecessors. While nothing on Long Gone And Nearly There is overdone, just about everything leaves you wanting more. The set carries only two songs over three minutes in length, and the whole of the record's 10 tracks transpires in less than a half an hour, so you will be restarting Long Gone about as often as you would flip a vinyl record.

We estimate conservatively that we've listened to this record 40 times since receiving it, and we have little doubt that our experience won't be unique once Long Gone And Nearly There hits racks next month. Philadelphia's Transit Of Venus label releases the record May 27.

 

from The Big Takeover -- Number 12 in Top 40

Julie Ocean

Long Gone and Nearly There

Transit of Venus

 

We could tell you that this foursome is led by early '90s D.C. indie-pop sovereigns, guitarist/singers Jim Spellman (High Back Chairs, Velocity Girl) and our own Terry Banks (St. Christopher, Tree Fort Angst, Saturday People, Glo-Worm with Pam Berry of Shins-song fame). We could note they took their name from a 1981 U.K. 41  Undertones Positive Touch hit. A mag is supposed to give info and context—especially about its own writers.

 

But what this sounds like is a gang of college-age kids on espresso! 10 songs in 25 minutes—four of them shorter than two minutes—are sleeve clues to this breathless up-tempo thick guitar pop. But it doesn't tell you it's also cleanly recorded, loud, brash, and endlessly sugar-melodic. Long Gone hasn't time to wallow in salad days nostalgia; it drags a lost art form to the present, shot full of Brit greats like TV21 (especially!!!) and similar primo 1980 work by the So Far Away Chords, Setting Sons Jam, "What Do You Know" Buzzcocks, and yes Hypnotized Undertones. (Not Positive Touch!) Add in thicker C86 bands like Razorcuts, Wedding Present, and Primitives, and you have the best record of this type since The Rifles No Love Lost (think "Local Boy").

 

This crackin' pop jumps out of speakers with verve, confidence, and tunes a plenty; just for the superb "Complications" (track 7!?!)), Long Gone is the bomb, and there's nine more backing it up. Talk about short but sweet: get in, do your business, get out… and rock!

-- Jack Rabid

from Aquarium Drunkard --

Julie Ocean :: Long Gone And Nearly There

I seem to go out of my way annually to crown a power-pop champion for the year. Someone whose subversion or reverential recreation of the genre is so willfully brilliant and fun that I have to listen to the record over and over. In 2006 it was Devin Davis, last year it was Georgie James, in 2008 it's Julie Ocean.


But despite this being a debut album, the people involved aren't surprising. With a pedigree that includes members of Velocity Girl, the High-Back Chairs and the Saturday People, Julie Ocean is one more cog in an incestuous indie-rock machination of bands that have made a living out of co-opting and vividly and uniquely recreating some seriously classic rock and roll tropes: surf music, harmonies, three-minutes and less running time, jangly and crisp guitars. Long Gone and Nearly There follows in the best tradition of albums like The Ramones and, in more recent times, Is This It, hitting with force, quickly and succinctly, leaving the listener ready to hit play again at the end. The album blitzes by - 10 songs in 25 minutes - without a wasted note.


The first four songs roll by at an amazing clip - "1 Song" and "My Revenge" being the two standouts. The former even contains a lick of guitar that immediately recalls a faster version of Matthew Sweet's "I've Been Waiting." The latter is possibly the record's most perfectly condensed moment: background harmonies, shimmering guitars, a glorious chorus, a pace that never slackens from note one. It even follows that grand tradition of juxtaposing ridiculously up-tempo music with somewhat bitter lyrics. "Just a little bit of sugar," as Julie Andrews sang.


The proof of Long Gone's brilliance lays in track five - the one song on the album that really stretches out. A little over five minutes long, it's the type of song that normally drags a record like this down. In the midsts of brilliant, short, punchy gems comes the long form song. But "Here Comes Danny" defies expectations - it's the epitome of the other tracks' perfection extended out to five minutes. I had to double check the time when I began writing this. "Here Comes Danny" has been one of my favorite tracks on this album since I first listened to it, but I was honestly shocked to find out how long it is. It doesn't feel anywhere close to that - with its guitar solo and megaphone-shouted background chorus, it's completely engaging. A record full of songs like this would begin to wear on listeners, but placed within the shorter pieces, it only reinforces just how sharp Julie Ocean is.


The back half of the album soars as well. "Bright Idea" hums along at punk speed with its "ahhhh" undergirding. The other true standout, "There's a Place (In the Back of My Mind)," sounds like a lost Buddy Holly track, and this is the one misstep in the album. This song should have been the final song on the record. Instead, the album ends on the breakneck "Looking at Me/Looking at You," a fine song in its own right, but it leaves the album more open ended. This is a quibble over sequencing, which isn't a major complaint at all, but I feel like ending the album on the former track would've even further pushed listeners to want to hit the play button again immediately upon its finish.


Long Gone and Nearly There arrives just in time for summer and to truly throw down the gauntlet for power-pop in 2008. If you're going to step to this album, you've got some mighty large and catchy shoes to fill.

Download:
MP3: Julie Ocean :: My Revenge
MP3: Julie Ocean :: Bright Idea
————–

from Pop Matters --

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/64584/julie-ocean-long-gone-and-nearly-there1

Julie Ocean -- Long Gone and Nearly There -- (Transit Of Venus)

US release date: 27 May 2008

UK release date: 2 June 2008

Tight, sugary and saturated with bubbly pop. Think Fountains Of Wayne, Sloan or Velvet Crush and a song such as "Ten Lonely Words" becomes crystal clear in a delightfully brisk two minutes. The co-vocalists and guitarists Jim Spellman and Terry Banks have great harmonies that bring to mind The Hollies or Dave Clark Five on the bouncy, chipper "Number 1 Song" and the equally tight, catchy "My Revenge".

 

Meanwhile, things slow down slightly with the infectious "At the Appointed Hour" with more classic Brit-pop flavoring. This band sounds like they would be perfect if paired up with Bishop Allen on tour or Weezer's support act judging by how well the lengthy, slow burner "Here Comes Danny" comes off. Another little nugget and perhaps the album's sleeper pick is the somewhat roots-y "Complications".

 

And if there was any doubts about the band's chops, they keep the momentum going with another Kinks-meets-Elvis Costello jewel entitled "There's a Place (In the Back of My Mind)". Oddly enough, this is the type of band who will hopefully stay in the back of one's mind for a long time.

 

from Jersey Beat --

JULIE OCEAN - Long Gone & Nearly There (Transit Of Venus)

Fans of good old American power-pop will embrace this Washington, DC combo's debut full-length, a cornucopia of jangly guitars, giddy backup vocals, and big happy hooks. Singer/guitarists Jim Spellman and Terry Banks spent time in shoegaze-popsters Velocity Girl and twee-pop innovators Glo-Worm respectively, while the rest of the band hails from the artsy wing of D.C. post-hardcore scene (Swiz, Severin, Sweetbelly Freakdown.)

 

Given those indier-than-thou roots, you'd expect the band's surfy sugarcoated pop tunes to be delivered with at least a hint of affectation or ironic distance; but if it's there, I'm not hearing it. There's a bit of Beatles pastiche to be sure, and bubblegum backup vocals that recall the Weezer of "Buddy Holly" or mid-Nineties era Superdrag; "1 Song" has the anthemic shoulda-been-a-monster-hit vibe of classic Raspberries.

 

But there's no jive, no fooling around, no "look at me" guitar solos or monster drums clogging up the bandwidth - just catchy, clever, extremely hummable power-pop, coming from four guys who have all been through the indie rock wringer, and come out the other side happily sounding like kids again. (Long Gone & Nearly There will be released on May 13; catch a sample at myspace.com/julieoceandc.)

 

 

from Dagger --

Julie Ocean -- LONG GONE AND NEARLY THERE- (TRANSIT OF VENUS)

It's pretty much a given that any band that Terry Banks is in, I'm bound to like it. He knocked the socks off the indie crowd with his first band Tree Fort Angst, then did some fine work in St. Christopher and Glo-Worm, and more recently, The Saturday People (with Archie from Velocity Girl). In Julie Ocean he has another V.G. alum in their drummer Jim Spellman (he plays guitar in Julie Ocean) while the rhythm section of drummer Alex Daniels and Hunter Bennett have done time in Swiz and Weatherhead respectively.

Now that introductions are out of the way I'm happy to announce that Julie Ocean kicks ass! Mixing up a tasty stew of 60's garage, indie rock and bubblegum the songs hit you like an Ali one-two punch with the wiry opener "Ten Lonely Words" leading the pack right into the should-be-a-hit "Number 1 Song" (no pun intended) which then segues into the bashing "My Revenge. "Here Comes Danny" should be a top 10 hit and the final 1:40 of the closer, "Looking at Me/Looking at You", couldnlt have ended this set more perfectly, all sweaty and panting.

I have to say that this is my favorite record that any of these folks have been involved in (and that's saying a lot as I previously mentioned how big a fan I am of their prior bands) and best of all, the 10 songs blur by in less than half an hour (for those of us with kids and short attentions spans!). Julie Ocean has given me my perfect amount of sugar intake today. www.transitofvenusmusic.com 

from BabySue Zine --

Julie Ocean - Long Gone and Nearly There (CD, Transit of Venus, Pop)

Nice, bright, hummable pop that sounds instantly familiar. We loved the opening line of the press release that accompanied this disc: "Just because a CD will hold 80 minutes of music doesn't mean it should." We sure as hell agree with that statement (!) This is a very short album that lasts just over 25 minutes...but in terms of quality, it beats the heck out of many albums that are twice or three times as long.

Julie Ocean is the quartet consisting of Jim Spellman (guitar, vocals), Terry Banks (guitar, vocals), Hunter Bennett (bass), and Alex Daniels (drums). Folks may remember Spellman as a prior member of the 1990s band Velocity Girl.

Long Gone and Nearly There features ten direct, upbeat, catchy guitar tunes that sound something like a cross between The Undertones and The Beach Boys. While this band's music may be too happy and accessible for underground noise snobs, pop fans are likely to get a mighty big charge out of this album. Groovy tracks include "Ten Lonely Words," "My Revenge," "Complications," and "Looking At Me/Looking At You." (Rating: 5)

from The Big Takeover.com --

Julie Ocean – Long Gone and Nearly There (Transit of Venus)

The latest release from the great Transit of Venus label is by a wonderfully named (after a great UNDERTONES song) group from DC consisting of JIM SPELLMAN (formerly of VELOCITY GIRL and HIGH BACK CHAIRS) on guitar and vocals, TERRY BANKS (formerly of GLO-WORM and also on guitars and vocals), ALEX DANIELS (formerly of SWIZ and SEVERIN) on drums and HUNTER BENNETT (formerly of the post-GOVERNMENT ISSUE outfit WEATHERHEAD) on bass.

Regardless of the members' impressive pedigrees, however, this is simply a fusion of early '90s indie-rock and power-pop that works really well. Occupying the ground between groups like THE WEDDING PRESENT, early GUIDED BY VOICES and SEBADOH on one hand and say, WEEZER, early CHEAP TRICK and even DESCENDENTS and DAG NASTY on occasion (Daniels' drumming recalls BILL STEVENSON of Descendents and the vocals on some tracks hint at PETER CORTNER circa Dag Nasty's Field Day at times), there are ten songs in twenty-five minutes. Any fan of the aforementioned bands and any early '90s indie-rock with bite will enjoy this.

from Left Of The Dial  --

Julie Ocean/Long Gone and Nearly There: Transit of Venus

With a surging, insistent, freshly buzzed pop undertow, hitched to harmonies bouncing in their heads, the oddly named Julie Ocean (wait, wait, an Undertones song hiccups in nostalgia land) reveal short saucy songs that bridge the Buzzcocks with early Teenage Fanclub: fuzzy, well-aimed gusto also makes it all quite spirited too, not rendered inert by all the buttery oohs and ahs. In fact, the whole project is a hybrid, mutant pop baby of hardcore legends Swiz (recall the acerbic line: "you make me feel so old!") and Velocity Girl, so admittedly, my prejudice is jet blue contrail high, since Swiz stayed at my house back in the late 1980s, and I saw the last Velocity Girl show in NYC.

So, even if "Number 1 Song" come a little to close to the lyrically bright, hammy side of Marshall Crenshaw, the interwoven guitar fabric and steady beat luckily lays down a different kind of indie rock tension. I prefer the almost Queers-esque (think the last few bubblegum records) of "Ten Lonely Words," which rushes by in under two minutes, like thin sliced haiku plastic punk. "My Revenge" kicks into gear with the same propelling, concise manner, revealing a world in which the little things matter — stars, secrets, and postcards never sent. It's a lyrical rush of longing and bitterness that doesn't cause too much dysfunction, just a pressing need to get back into the world and live again. "At The Appointed Hour" blows by in shambling, restless quickness too, reminding me of a different cultural currency, perhaps Wedding Present lite.

"Here Comes Danny" is the long, and lone, conceptual undertaking, unveiling a world of foreign movies, sappy poems, and friends, like Danny looking cute in his brand new suit. He willingly bends, he sings, but doesn't want to break, as the song churns out a solid and engaging wall of roar pop. To switch gears, the dizzying retro "Bright Idea" feels like the British Invasion reworked through a digital jukebox on trucker speed pills, as does the early Beatles stab of "There's A Place (In The Back of My Mind)," with the bouncy hand claps and gyrating skinny hips. For a slightly punk enmeshment, go to "Ebb & Flow," with its hard tuft of Buzzcocks beat and guitar wrangle, topped with an ice cream voice. If you are a fan of Dirtnap records (Marked Men and Busy Signals), but want something less edgy and manic, try this for an equal kind of high.

from ALTERNATIVE PRESS --

Julie Ocean -- Long Gone and Nearly There

With big, round guitar hooks, Evan Dando-esque vocal inflections backed by woo-woo harmonies and tight little two-minute songs, Julie Ocean's debut is a leap back to the power-pop past. Featuring former Velocity Girl drummer Jim Spellman on lead vocals and guitar and produced by Geoff Sanoff (Fountains of Wayne, Luna), this 25-minute sugar nip comes by its lineage honestly, swirling through the formula with no small sense of joy… the simple confidence and chirp of the whole thing helps it land nicely and with warm returns. -- Jeff Leven

 

from RockSellOut:

 

Julie Ocean: Long Gone and Nearly There

Am I the only person on the planet who's a sucker for nostalgic references in either band names or album titles?! Maybe this stuff is entirely in my head, but after listening to the new album from D.C.'s Julie Ocean I'd highly doubt it…these lads have definitely sprinkled a little Undertones on their breakfast cereal as teens.

As for who these guys are and where they came from: Jim Spellman played in Velocity Girl and The High Back Chairs. Terry Banks played in The Saturday People, Tree Fort Angst and Glo-Worm. Alex Daniels played in Swiz, Severin and Sweetbelly Freakdown. Hunter Bennett played in Weatherhead.

I'm somewhat bummed their isn't a video or another song to share from the band's debut on Transit of Venus, Long Gone and Nearly There. I don't think the song we've been cleared to share is the best representation of the album. While I do like it indeed, I wouldn't selected another slice had I been entitled. The band has posted a few other songs on their Myspace to stream though, so all is not lost. The album was produced by Geoff Sanoff (Fountains of Wayne, Luna, The Secret Machines.)

American power-pop fans: Click here to pre-order a copy.

from Polaroid/Italy --

http://polaroid.blogspot.com/

 

 

L'estate sull'oceano

Sono affezionato al mio vecchio iPod, nonostante abbia una memoria di soli 2 giga. Dato il poco spazio, mi sono abituato a fare un ricambio di playlist quasi tutte le settimane o poco più, usandolo soprattutto per ascoltare le novità. Pochi dischi sopravvivono a molte rotazioni. Ma di recente uno mi ha fatto pensare che dovrò trovare il modo di tenerlo su fino all'estate: Long Gone and Nearly There dei Julie Ocean, perfetto per la prossima stagione, la strada la spiaggia gli amici e tutto il resto che già sapete.

Quartetto di Washington, i Julie Ocean non sono certo dei novellini. Il cuore della formazione, infatti, arriva dai Velocity Girl, storica band che nella prima metà dei Novanta pubblicò tre album per Sub Pop. Nel resto dell'albero genealogico si trovano gruppi come Saturday People e Glo-Worm, o etichette come Slumberland, K e Dischord. E se i Velocity Girl prendevano il nome dai primissimi Primal Scream, "Julie Ocean" è un omaggio agli Undertones.

La formula musicale di Long Gone and Nearly There rimanda al migliore sound da college radio dei bei tempi (Lemonheads, Guided By Voices, tanto per fare qualche citazione), pieno di chitarre veloci e cori solari, ritmi spigliati da battimani immediato, rumore e melodie equilibrati a meraviglia dentro dieci canzoni in venticinque minuti.
Forse si avverte un po' la mancanza di certe dinamiche tra voci femminili e maschili, come nei Velocity Girl, ma Jim Spellman e Terry Banks, tra falsetti e sha-la-la da Beach Boys, sono perfettamente in parte. Il disco è prodotto da Geoff Sanoff, che non a caso ha già lavorato con Fountains of Wayne e Luna.

Qui si può ascoltare l'intero album in streaming, ma comprarlo costa appena 13 dollari, spese incluse. Sarà il mio primo acquisto per l'estate che arriva.

 

>>>(mp3): Ten Lonely Words
>>>(mp3): At the Appointed Hour

 

 

from Quick Before It Melts:

 

Julie Ocean, Long Gone and Nearly There --

There's something to be said about efficient, sensible pop songs.
They're usually sharp, to the point,and infinitely catchy. So, when I plucked Julie Ocean's Long Gone and Nearly There out of my mailbox the other day, and flipped the CD case over to examine the back, I figured I'd be in for a power pop pleasure trip, as the longest track of the 10 songs was 5:04, and the shortest clocking in at 1:36.

 

Julie Ocean are not a girl named Julie, but a full-fledged band featuring Jim Spellman, from 90s Sub Pop signing Velocity Girl. His roots, and those of band mates Terry Banks, Hunter Bennett , and Alex Daniels are rooted firmly in the 80s and 90s D.C. music scene they all had a hand in, coupled with a healthy dose of Beatles inspired 60s pop and 70s based melodies via The Jam and The Undertones (from whom the band takes its name).

 

As the summer sun approaches, and the temptation to drive at full speed with the top down becomes too hard to resist, Long Gone and Nearly There is the perfect soundtrack to get you from point A to point anywhere you want to go. So if you want to go for a ride in style, email me at contests at quick before it melts dot com for your chance to own your very own copy of Julie Ocean's debut. Contest closes Friday, May 23, 11:59 pm.

> Julie Ocean "Number 1 Song"

 

 

 

from ClickyClicky:

 

One of the bigger records of the year to date is Julie Ocean's immaculate indie pop gem Long Gone And Nearly There. The D.C.-based act's debut long-player isn't due in stores until May 27, but as of today it is available on ITunes and EMusic. Readers may recall we reviewed the record here in early April, at which time we said -- among other things -- that "the relatively new quartet succeeds marvelously, as evidenced by the exuberant and winsome indie pop..." Through the magic of multiple publicists working the record -- which is being released by Philadelphia powerpop label Transit Of Venus -- we've got a copy to give away and we're giving it away right now. The first reader to email us (our email is in the sidebar) with the phrase "Ghost In The Mirror" in the subject line will receive a brand spanking new copy of the CD from us in the mail next week. It's that simple.

 

We'll update this item as soon as there is a winner. If you're itching to see Julie Ocean -- which incidentally features former members of Velocity Girl, Glo-worm and Swiz -- ply their pop in a live performance, the band has two live engagements booked: a CD release show at Iota in Arlington, Virginia on the 6th; and a gig with Half Japanese at Rock And Roll Hotel in D.C. July 11. If you want to try before you buy -- or try before you win -- here once again is the MP3 for the infectious toe-tapper "Number 1 Song" below.

> Julie Ocean -- "Number 1 Song" -- Long Gone And Nearly There

 

 

from PreFixMag:

Julie Ocean debut album on the way:

2008 is shaping up to be a good year for Velocity Girl aficionados. Former VG singer Sarah Shannon released her Burt Bacharach-meets-Carole King opus City Morning Song in February, and now Velocity Girl drummer Jim Spellman's new band, Julie Ocean, is set to drop its debut album, Long Gone and Nearly There, on May 27.

 

The band's name, which comes from a song title by the Undertones, is a hint to its contents. Anyone enamored of classic late-'70s power pop a la 20/20, the Shoes, et al, should have their hearts lifted by Julie Ocean's fizzy pop hooks and sharp, concise (10 songs in 25 minutes--take that, Ramones!) songcraft.

 

Those who follow the release schedules of labels like Parasol and Not Lame religiously should prepare themselves for the power-pop album of the year. "But will they tour?" we hear you cry. Fingers crossed, friends...

 

 

 

from Atlas and The Anchor --

 

 

New CD: Julie Ocean - "long gone and nearly there"

 

I have been excited about this cd since I read about it last year when they just had songs posted on their Myspace. Now their debut, "Long Gone and Nearly There" will be released on the Transit Of Venus label on May 29th.

Julie Ocean, includes ex-members of Velocity Girl (remember them 90's alternative fans?), Glo-Worm, Severin and even as far back as the D.C. hardcore band Goverment Issue. With that in mind, this D.C. band really sounds nothing like their punk past, although they have created a sound that mixes The Shins' love of the 60's, The Undertones and The Jam from the 70's with the energy and spirit of The Decendents and Dag Nasty from the 80's. The second song on the album, "Number 1 Song" is a perfect example of this and a great introduction to this great new band. You can download the mp3 of "Number 1 Song" here: http://www.toolshed-media.com/ts/julie-ocean-1-song.mp3 (right click to download)

Hear more songs here: www.myspace.com/julieoceandc and then order their cd here: http://www.transitofvenusmusic.com/

 

 

from ChartAttack Canada --

 

Julie Ocean Are Long Gone And Nearly There

Washington, D.C. indie poppers Julie Ocean will release their Long Gone And Nearly There debut on May 27 through Transit Of Venus Music.

The 10-song album was produced by Geoff Sanoff (Fountains Of Wayne, Secret Machines). You can check out "Ten Lonely Words" and "My Revenge" on the band's MySpace page.

Julie Ocean formed after Terry Banks (vocals, guitar) and Hunter Bennett (bass) started jamming together. Guitarist/vocalist Jim Spellman, formerly of D.C. indie rockers Velocity Girl, answered an ad the two put in their local paper when the band were called Friendship Flowershop. Alex Daniels was later added on drums and the band changed their name to Julie Ocean, the title of a song by Northern Ireland's The Undertones. Their members previously played in bands The Saturday People, The High Back Chairs, Weatherhead, Glo-Worm, Severin, Tree Fort Angst, Sweetbelly Freakdown and Swiz.

from Downtown Money Waster --

Julie Ocean -- Long Gone and Nearly There

Catchy, poppy, and full of hooks.  Julie Ocean's Long Gone and Nearly There is a pleasant mix of popular song writing mixed with a punk charm.  Recorded in Virginia and New York City the LP squashes ten songs into 25 minutes.  This is along the same lines as the Old 97's, or the Buzzcocks hammering out quick tunes.  If you were into the latter, then Julie Ocean would also be a good fit. 

The record has a splash of gimmicks with, "Number 1 Song," a tale pondering the possibilities of cashing in on hit single, and while remaining lyrically intellectual. It arrives just in time for the summer season. Weekday drives along the beach, early evening barbeques, and midnight hookups. The Miles Davis might be saved for the late evening, but this Julie Ocean record will do for the partying before the lip locking. 

The album kicks off with "Ten Lonely Words," which showcases melody driven vocals straight out of the gate.  The track clocks in less than two minutes.  The first half of the recording follows suit, before opening up with "Here Comes Danny."  Beatles influenced traits are evident in "There's A Place," before closing with "Looking At Me/Looking At You

 

 

from RocknBlog.com --

 

Mon tube de l'été : Number 1 Song par Julie Ocean

 

On commence avec un groupe américain qui, s'il n'a pas encore l'allure d'une grosse machine, fera certainement trembler bon nombre de membranes acoustiques de casques et enceintes.  Nom tiré d'un titre des Undertones, Julie Ocean nous livre, avec l'album Long Gone And Nearly There qui paraitra fin mai, 10 titres de power pop efficace et punchy à l'image de ce Number 1 Song.

 D'autres titres à écouter sur leur myspace

1:46 AM 

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2008:
Aug. 7 -- Fort Reno w/The Secret Pop Band, The Aquarium
July 27 -- WMUC Third Rail Radio w/The Antiques
July 11 -- Rock and Roll Hotel w/Half Japanese, Aliens
June 6 -- Iota w/Yell County, The City Veins
May 9 -- World Cafe Live w/Milton and The Devil's Party, Takota
May 1 -- DC9 w/The Redwalls, Baby Teeth
April 5 -- Rock and Roll Hotel w/The Dirtbombs, Kelley Stoltz
Mar. 6 -- Velvet Lounge w/Screen Vinyl Image
Feb. 23 -- Rock n Romp
2007:
Nov. 20 -- The Black Cat w/Gist
Nov. 3 -- Rock and Roll Hotel w/Maria Taylor, The Positions
Oct. 11 -- The Red & The Black w/Vandaveer, Southeast Engine
Sept. 19 -- 9:30 Club w/Apples In Stereo, Aqueduct
Sept. 14 -- North Star w/Oliver Future, Von Hayes
Sept. 4 -- The Black Cat w/The Hoodoo Gurus, The Fake Accents
Aug. 2 -- The Black Cat w/The Smoking Popes
June 28 -- Fort Reno
June 13 -- Velvet Lounge w/The High Signs, Mic Harrison
June 10 -- DC9 w/The Ladybug Transistor, The Public Good
May 22 -- The Black Cat w/The Jet Age
May 10 -- Iota w/Lejeune, The Antiques

JULIE OCEAN INTERVIEW -- AquariumDrunkard.com

http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2008/06/20/julie-ocean-the-ad-interview/

Earlier this month AD caught up with Julie Ocean's Terry Banks to discuss (among other things) the band's new LP, Long Gone And Nearly There, the Velocity Girl days, The Undertones, the local scene in Washington D.C., and an open-ended invitation to Teenage Fanclub.

Aquarium Drunkard: So tell me about where the band's name comes from.

Terry Banks: When we actually formed we called ourselves, for a short time, Friendship Flower Shop, which is a flower shop in Washington, D.C. that I've always been kind of obsessed by its name and I knew if I ever played in a band again, I'm going to use that as a band name. We knew all along that it as little bit of a silly name so we decided to go with Julie Ocean instead which is, of course, a song by the Undertones, a band from the early 80s from Northern Ireland. I just really love that song and the other guys were kind of open to using that as a band name. It doesn't have any other significance than that it's a really beautiful song and kind of a cool name and we liked the idea that it had kind of an abstract quality, so we went with it.

AD: And that song isn't even from the most well known Undertones album - it's from their third album - and it's not even stylistically what immediately comes to my mind when I think of the Undertones. Is there a reason that it was something a bit out of the ordinary for them that struck you - why were you drawn to that song?

TB: Yeah, that is true. They sort of had this Ramonesy sort of thing for their first two records and that is really kind of a chimey, jangling pop song. And I don't know if this is true for the other guys - it's probably true for Jim [Spellman] as well - but I started off as a real jangle pop fanatic. I loved stuff like Postcard-era Orange Juice and early Aztec Camera and the Flying Nun bands and the jingle-jangle stuff I really loved. I played in a band in England who had done records on the Sarah label called St. Christopher and it was really light sort of pop stuff. I really like that kind of stuff. It's not quite what we do now, though there are some common threads. I really love that song - it's a short song, only like a 1:45 and I love short songs, we all do - and it just kind of had a good feel to it. We haven't really thought of a better one. It's not like we called ourselves Julie Ocean and then two weeks later came up with something we liked better. We liked it enough to go with it and we don't have any regrets in that regard.

AD: You talk about liking short songs - in my review of the album, I talked about how you only have one song on the album - "Here Comes Danny" - that goes over 5 minutes. Every other song on the album is around the three and a half minute mark or much shorter. Obviously that's a conscious stylistic decision - why the shorter songs?

TB: Well, it's not a conscious stylistic decision in the sense that 'Oh, this song could be 4 minutes but we'll stop it at the two minute mark,' that's just how they come out. When I'm writing something, I'll get out this little cheesy digital watch that counts in seconds and I'll play it. And I'm always hopeful it'll come out more than two minutes because when it's less than two minutes it sometimes feels like it's too much of a snippet, so if anything I usually try to push them a bit longer. But they just come out really short. Part of it is loving early Beatles, you know, '62, '63, '64 Beatles - their stuff was really short - and keeping stuff really tight and appealing and not sort of just dragging things just to drag them on. But again we try not to do that in extreme and have songs that are 50 seconds long. We try to make songs that actually have a beginning, middle and end, but don't wear out their welcome.

AD: You mentioned your bandmate, Jim Spellman. The two of y'all have past connections in that Jim was in Velocity Girl and you played in another band called Tree Fort Angst with another guy, Archie Moore, who was also in Velocity Girl. Is this the first time you and Jim have played together?

TB: It is. He and I have known each other since back in 1990. And we actually met each other through a guy named Peter Cortner who was the singer in Dag Nasty - which oddly enough is also how we got to know Hunter Bennet many years later, who is the bass player in the band - so Peter from Dag Nasty is kind of a linch pin of this. The band I was in with Archie was actually the Saturday People - Tree Fort Angst sort of preceded that. But the Saturday People was a band Archie and I were in - we had an album out on the Slumberland label and a couple of 7″s and a little EP and we played around for two, two and a half years. But Jim and I have known each other quite a long time, as I have those other guys.

But you know, scenes are funny because from the outside they might look bigger than they are. But I have this theory that local band scenes are always the same 23 people cross-pollinating over the course of a few years, whether you're talking about Chapel Hill or Athens or Minneapolis or D.C. They're usually pretty small and pretty insular so you get the same people pairing up in different combinations over time and occasionally a new person will come in and expand the gene pool a bit, but it never really gets bigger than a couple of dozen people, I think.

AD: It's funny that you mention that because bands like you've been in with the Saturday People and the bands that Jim was in - Velocity Girl, the High Back Chairs - they're not identical, but they have a similar ethic and they sort of represent this one vision of D.C. But whenever you think of the broad vision of D.C. you think of the 80s and the hardcore scene - but yet, talking about these scenes being insular, the High Back Chairs was with Jeff Nelson who was in Minor Threat - were all those bands just an extension of the earlier parts of the D.C. scene?

TB: That's a good question. Certainly two of the biggest musical scense that came out of D.C. were hardcore, the Dischord scene, and go-go, this massive thing in Washington. But oddly enough there always has been this melodic pop thing in D.C. Going back to the early 80s and a guy named Tommy Keene who was a real kind of local hero and he put out a couple of records on Geffen and he's still going, he's in L.A. now. But he was this kind of mod, jangle, Beatles kind of guy. That sort of stuff has always been around here - the Slickee Boys sort of had a little bit of that element. And then a few years after that you have the whole Slumberland scene, a lot of which centered around a woman named Pam Barry who has lived in London for the last ten years. But she and I were in a band together called Glo-Worm which was a fake, folky sort of Everything But the Girl kind of thing, at least in theory. And D.C. has always had this sort of step-child jangle-pop, indie-pop kind of scene. It's way smaller than the hardcore scene, but it's still there. But our drummer, Alex Daniels, was in a band called Swiz, who were a really big hardcore band in Washington who didn't record for Dischord but were very much in that scene, and then he was in Severin who actually was on Dischord. And Jim has sort of butted up against that world as well. So yeah, there are some ties between those worlds.

AD: Does D.C. have a particular scene anymore? Is there a style that defines D.C. today?

TB: I don't know. That's a good question. I'm probably the wrong person to ask. There are certainly a ton of bands. The old bromide about rock dying and music going away and everyone staying in and playing computer games is undercut by the fact that, and I'm sure it's the same way where you are, there are just more bands than there ever were before. I was talking with a friend of mine the other night - just in Washington alone, there are eight or nine clubs that do - and I hate to use the term 'indie-music,' but I'll call it that - there are eight or nine clubs doing this indie guitar stuff six or seven nights a week and it's crazy. And you look at the ads and you go 'who are all these bands?' I don't know if it has a stylistic theme. Certainly there are remnants of the Dischord thing. Fort Reno is a big concert series that is sort of tied to the Dischord world - it's a summer time, outdoor concert series - I think we're playing it again this year. A lot of the people who were the authors of that sound - and the Teen Beat people and all that - of course the guy from Unrest, Mark Robinson, he's moved away - but I'm kind of rambling. I don't know that there is a signature sound the way there was, but there is a lot of sound, there are a lot of bands playing, so I'm sure a signature sound will emerge from that.

AD: How do you see what you're doing with Julie Ocean as fitting into the continuing body of work that you've been in?

TB: We're just sort of trying to write poppy, appealing songs that get in, make their point and stop. It's not wildly different from anything anyone in the band has done previously, but it's come together quite easily and we have a lot of fun doing it. It's a very stress free sort of band and it's been sort of a breeze so far, so we hope to make another record and keep doing it for its own rewards.

AD: I'll use a term people either embrace or they don't - but does pop music, the sort of direct, catchy sort of thing that is a term I would use to describe Julie Ocean, does it ever go away? Is it something that ebbs and flows?

TB: Well the first question is - this pop thing of guitars and up front melodies and sort of sing-songy vocals - one one hand, if you take pop to mean popular, it's never really all that popular which is sort of a funny misnomer. But with that said, it never goes away and it always seems to sort of connect with a lot of people, certainly not all people. But it is sort of an evergreen style. We try not to do it in any sort of formalist way, in any sort of slavish way. There's a lot of sort of pop stuff that's very cheesy and hopefully we stay very wide of that. Our stuff is pretty energetic and off the cuff. It has a focus on hooks and melody, but it's also sort of off the cuff - it's kind of punky, in my opinion - punky and energetic. Hopefully that keeps it from being really precious or sort of wimpy.

AD: Have you set up any U.S. tour dates?

TB: I don't know. We play in Washington a lot - we've played up in Philadelphia. We don't have any sort of plans for getting in a van and driving to where ever. We'll just kind of play it by ear. We like playing out and we play a show every two or three weeks and we want to keep doing that. And it might be fun to do a string of dates, but for right now we're kind of playing it by ear - there are no firm plans for touring. We're kind of a local band and we may stay a local band, but we kind of get out of town every now and then.

AD: So there's no pressure with this question then - if you were going to go out on tour, who would be your ideal tourmates? Who would you want to take along?

TB: Oh, well, we'd probably be the ones being taken along. Wow, that's a good one. Maybe, you know, the Modern Lovers of 1971 could reform. Or Orange Juice circa 1980 could reform, we could get a time machine going. I don't know. There's a lot of good stuff. I'd have to think about it. There would be an embarrassment of riches - a lot of choices - 'cause there's a lot of good stuff happening.

AD: I think you ought to drag Tommy Keene around…
TB: Yeah, that could happen, you never know..
AD: Or, if I may be so bold, Teenage Fanclub. I think that'd be a great pairing.
TB: That would be great. I like them a lot. That would be great. All they have to do is call us.
AD: I'll see what I can do about that.
TB: Yeah, please, get to work on that. [laughs] I'll leave it in your hands.

AD: So my last question, since you used the Undertones as the name for your band, is there anything on this first record - and I know you don't want to put words in the mouth of a dead man - but is there anything on this record that John Peel would've played over and over the way he did "Teenage Kicks?"

TB: Well, I don't know. He might like something like "Bright Idea" which is like 1:36 and ridiculously fast but sugary. We played it way too fast in the studio, we were sort of excited. And when we made the record I thought, 'God, we should've slowed that down.' Not slowed it down artificially, but just done it over and played it a little more coherently. But now that I hear it, I like that it's kind of coming off the rails and really kind of amped up. And who knows. He might've liked that one, you never know. - j. neas

Download:
MP3:  Julie Ocean :: My Revenge
MP3:  Julie Ocean :: Bright Idea
————–
Amazon: Julie Ocean - Long Gone And Nearly There

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/51272-wtf-ex-velocity-girl-drummer-gets-tasered-on-cnn

 

 

We have a video up on YouTube:
"Ten Lonely Words,"  1 minute, 57 seconds.
See it at:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eyoSx-L-n_Y
 
 

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/137691-julie-ocean-long-gone-and-nearly-there

Julie Ocean:
Long Gone and Nearly There

[Transit of Venus; 2008]
Rating: 6.8

·                                 Buy it from Insound

·                                 Download it from eMusic

Despite its effusiveness, power pop is a highly conservative genre, favoring a minimum of elements: infectious hooks, tight harmonies, driving tempos, and bittersweet brevity. A very few artists, such as the New Pornographers, can successfully tweak that formula without losing the immediacy of the form, while others, like Fight Songs-era Old 97s, distinguish themselves through their lyrics. But most power pop bands do it just well enough to risk becoming anonymous, following the formula so closely that they neglect to include themselves in their songs. 

D.C.'s Julie Ocean, fortunately, does not fall into that last category. They follow the same tried-and-true equation, but drop some unexpected elements-- Shakespeare quotes, French movie references-- into their songs, which they play loud and fast, turning the requisite power-pop sugar rush into something resembling punk intensity. All 1990s indie heroes should age so well: Julie Ocean-- their name comes from an Undertones song-- are headed by Jim Spellman, who played in Velocity Girl and more recently was tasered on CNN. The band itself is something of a D.C. supergroup, featuring ex-Saturday People guitarist Terry Banks, former Severin drummer Alex Daniels, and Weatherhead's Hunter Bennett on bass. 

Julie Ocean blows Raspberries to anyone expecting Dischord post-hardcore or some sort of post-rock cheerlessness. After honing their songs on local stages for nearly a year, their debut, Long Gone and Nearly There, hits like a combination punch: quick, jabby, out of nowhere. First out of the gate, "Ten Lonely Words" never sits still, streamlining its busy guitar and wistful lyrics into two quick minutes. "1 Song" sounds a little more lived in, launches a volley of oohs, aahs, and whoos over the angsty lyrics and an insistent beat. "My Revenge" does, well, the same thing, but it doesn't sound repetitive, thanks to the sharp contrast between the album's brightest harmonies and darkest lyrics.

This momentum-- almost businesslike in its concentration-- continues unabated through the jumpy "At the Appointed Hour", but stops cold on "Here Comes Danny". Sounding like early-90s college pop, it's the weakest track here, but also the longest. They repeat that pulled-punch hook mercilessly and indulge an unnecessarily long guitar solo-- though it seems to want to be the heart of the album, it sounds like a different band. After "Here Comes Danny", Long Gone never quite reaches the same heights, although there are some peaks, like the fidgety "Complications" and the roughed-up closer "Looking at Me/Looking at You". The album clocks in at 25 minutes-- not even that, since they cut off the last guitar chord mid-squeal. That's an abrupt end to a summery genre record whose sure-footed melodies and imaginative economy make it sound urgent and infectious...

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/julieoceandc

- Stephen M. Deusner, July 18, 2008

Our album is available for download from iTunes, eMusic, and Amazon. 

CDs are available from Transit of Venus:

$10, including postage, in the U.S. and Canada; $13 international air mail.

To order (via secure CC payment), go to:

www.transitofvenusmusic.com

Julie Ocean, Long Gone and Nearly There (Transit of Venus)

D.C.-based rocking pop band, ex-Velocity Girl

Just because a CD will hold 80 minutes of music doesn't mean it should.
Ten songs totaling just over 25 minutes in length, Long Gone and Nearly
There, the debut album from Washington D.C.-based quartet Julie Ocean
makes a case for fast over fatuous, poppy over prog, and concise over
complicated. The album is being released by Transit of Venus in partnership with Empyrean Records, distributed in the U.S. by RedEye.

Guitarist/singer Jim Spellman was a member of 90s alterna-faves Velocity
Girl, who released three top selling albums on the Sub Pop label, and he
played guitar in The High Back Chairs, Jeff Nelson's post-Minor Threat
combo. Guitarist/singer Terry Banks has played in a host of critically
acclaimed indie rock bands, including the Saturday People (Slumberland
label), Tree Fort Angst (Bus Stop) and Glo-Worm (K Records.) In the late
80s, drummer Alex Daniels was the teenage dynamo propelling the
young-and-angry Swiz and later took an artier turn as the drummer in Severin,
who recorded for the Dischord label. Bassist Hunter Bennett began musical
life in a post-Government Issue outfit called Weatherhead, an odd, D.C-based
collective who troubled the early 90s stages of DC Space and other hallowed
spots — sometimes wearing masks.

Long Gone and Nearly There was produced by Geoff Sanoff whose
production credits include Fountains of Wayne, Luna, and The Secret
Machines, among others. Julie Ocean frequently plays live in the D.C. area
and plans to play dates in support of the record on the East Coast — and
perhaps a few other further-flung places, too.

Long Gone and Nearly There:

01 Ten Lonely Words
02 Number 1 Song
03 My Revenge
04 At the Appointed Hour
05 Here Comes Danny
06 Bright Idea
07 Complications
08 Ebb & Flow
09 There's a Place (In the Back of My Mind)
10 Looking at Me/Looking at You

Media info at http://howlinwuelf.com/html/julie-ocean.html

From The D.C. City Paper.....

"D.C.’s fledgling outfit Julie Ocean spins cute, sugary, poppy yarns... But what else could you expect from an Undertones-referencing band assembled from the spare parts of Velocity Girl, The Saturday People, and Severin? The power-pop quartet is so green that, presently, its only recorded musical output is the four songs on its MySpace page (myspace.com/julieoceandc). However, it probably won’t be long before toe-tapping songs such as "At the Appointed Hour" and "Here Comes Danny" end up on some lovelorn high schooler’s mix tape made for an unrequited crush..."

Review of 9:30 Club show, opening for Apples in Stereo:

http://rogo2000.blogspot.com/ 

"The evening’s opening act was the excellent Julie Ocean. This was the second time I’ve seen them, and they were great... they sounded like a band that ought to be playing the 9:30 Club a lot more in the future. Can’t wait to get an album from these guys at some point."

from ClickyClicky blog:

"Let’s just go for the ’90s trifecta today, shall we? What do you get when you combine former members of retro hardcore giants Swiz, dream poppers Velocity Girl and twee standard-bearers Glo-Worm? This is a pretty easy question: you get a new band called Julie Ocean, who first blipped on the radar last May here and here. The D.C.-based quartet will release its debut Long Gone And Nearly There on Transit Of Venus (Trolleyvox, The Shimmers) this spring... Julie Ocean has posted two tracks at its MySpace yert that sound not too dissimilar from Simpatico!-era Velocity Girl’s overcharged take on ’60s-inflected bubblegum rock."

from D.C. City Paper:

http://www. washingtoncitypaper. com/display. php?id=34825

One Track Mind

What’s new in the local music scene, a few minutes at a time

By Aaron Leitko

April 3, 2008

Long Gone and Nearly There
Julie Ocean

"Standout Track: No. 2, "1 Song," a three-and-a-half-minute buzz bomb of jangling guitars and twee-pop sweetness. Like a classic Pavement tune, the song makes ample use of power chords and fuzzy leads. Unlike a classic Pavement tune, the lyrics make sense: "You pretend that we were lovers/Mix it up I’ll fix it up until it’s right/Then we’ll all just fade away and we’ll turn it into a No. 1 song," sings guitarist Jim Spellman over Terry Banks’ oohs and ahhs.

 

Musical Motivation: According to Spellman—a former member of the indie-pop band Velocity Girl, now a married dad working as a TV producer—"1 Song" is his reconciliation with the end of his wild years. "It’s sort of a ’Love the One You’re With’ for the early part of this century," he says. Spellman admits that much of Julie Ocean’s music will sound familiar to longtime fans. "These are the kind of songs that speak to me, they’re not filled with irony or a lot of concern," he says. "It’s basically the same four chords that I’ve used since I started playing guitars—and I like those chords.

 

Ad Mission: After Velocity Girl split in 1996, Spellman spent a few years looking for another indie-pop band, eventually responding to a City Paper classified for a band called Friendship Flowershop. Unbeknownst to Spellman, the ad had been placed by his old friend Terry Banks, formerly of Glo-Worm and the Saturday People. They clicked and later re-­christened their band Julie Ocean. "It was kind of a desperate move," says Spellman. "But it only has to work once."

 

 

from Chickfactor.com:

 

"meet julie ocean!

chickfactor is, and will always be, an insular, elitist little insidery unit full of nepotism, favoritism, and the shameless promotion of our friends and loved ones. we are not ashamed of this. quite often the only reason we are friends with people is that we wanted to meet them after hearing their music, seeing their art, eating their food, etc. oh so what! cut us some slack. at least we are not purveying only what the PRs want us to purvey!

the latest fab pop act we are pushing is called julie ocean, a d.c. supergroup featuring our pals terry banks (whose stellar pop acts tree fort angst, glo-worm and the saturday people have been known to perform at cf parties and be featured in the fanzine’s pages) and jim spellman (ex of velocity girl, whose various members wrote for and dated members of chickfactor magazine!). oh the shame.

check out these two offerings on you tube why don’t you. oh, alex from severin and hunter from weatherhead are also in the band and the foursome’s debut long-player, long gone and nearly there, hits the shops on may 13."

 

from USA Today.com:

http://blogs. usatoday. com/popcandy/

"Podcast update: Dive in to Julie Ocean

... Enjoy the delightful sounds of Julie Ocean, a sweet-sounding indie band from my city. These guys have a splendid new album on the way called Long Gone and Nearly There, and I play a pop-tastic track called 1 Song. You may have read about them on Pitchfork -- members have spent time in several bands, including Velocity Girl, Glo-Worm and Severin."

from In Love With These Times, In Spite of These Times, UK music blog:

Julie Ocean... a band name that celebrates an overlooked masterpiece... songs taking up where The Saturday People left off in many ways, a joyous jumble of British-style power-pop a la The Jam, and the hurtling, endearing East Coast indie adrenalin of prime Tree Fort Angst... records soon, please...

from Idolator.com:

Listening Station: Jumping In With Julie Ocean

"Thanks to friend of Idolator (and commenter) Jon Solomon for sending us the MySpace page of the DC outfit Julie Ocean. Their band name name-checks an Undertones song and their members include guys who have done time in Velocity Girl, Tree Fort Angst, Severin, and Glo-Worm, so you probably aren’t surprised that a) they play spazzy, hooky guitar pop and b) we’re very much into it, thank you. Of the four songs offered up by their MySpace page, we’re partial to the nicely speedy "At The Appointed Hour."

More Media Clips:

Washington Post Express:  Delusions of grandeur and Nick Drake are shown no quarter. 

http://www.readexpress.com/read_freeride/2007/06/music_julie_ocean_sets_sail.php

D.C. City Paper:  "Cute, sugary, poppy" and -- yes! -- incapable of causing offense

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=1558

Idolator:  "Spazzy!"

http://idolator.com/tunes/myspace/listening-station-jumping-in-with-the-julie-ocean-259801.php

Washington Post:  "Season appropriate!"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/09/AR2007050902021.html

BeethoBear Japan -- "Simply blitheness! Ulterior action!"

http://beethobear.blogspot.com/2007/03/all-stars-band.html

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/49155-dischordindie-pop-vets-release-debut-as-julie-ocean

Dischord/Indie Pop Vets Release Debut as Julie Ocean

Like a little pop puzzle, DC foursome Julie Ocean formed from the pieces of more indie bands than we can wrap our heads around. With a collective résumé that includes time spent in Velocity Girl, Glo-Worm, Swiz, Weatherhead, and Dischord acts the High Back Chairs and Severin, let’s just say these dudes have credentials.

Julie Ocean will release their debut album, Long Gone and Nearly There, via Philly label Transit of Venus on May 13. Produced by Geoff Sanoff (Luna, Secret Machines, Fountains of Wayne), Long Gone sports 10 songs and clocks in at less than 30 minutes. The group will support the record with a couple shows in and near their hometown, and they have plans to play a larger East Coast tour in the future.

Long Gone and Nearly There:

01 Ten Lonely Words
02 Number 1 Song
03 My Revenge
04 At the Appointed Hour
05 Here Comes Danny
06 Bright Idea
07 Complications
08 Ebb & Flow
09 There’s a Place (In the Back of My Mind)
10 Looking at Me/Looking at You

Julie Ocean:

04-05 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
05-09 Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live