Photo Credit: Press

California post hardcore duo BEING AS AN OCEAN are set to release their sixth studio album ‘Death Can Wait’. The record is the band’s first in five years, and sees them return to a much heavier sound as they are about to embark on a UK + European tour to celebrate its release. Vocalist/Guitarist Michael McGough was kind enough to sit down to chat about the album, and the bands upcoming tour supporting Currents.

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How excited are you for ‘Death Can Wait’ to be unveiled to the world?

Michael: I am equal parts nervous and excited and a little apprehensive but in a good way. This is the first record in five years and it’s the first as just me and Joel. I feel there is an awful lot to prove. A lot of the writing is similar to our first two records as well as ‘Waiting for Morning to Come’ and they have influenced the more heavier material on the new record. That’s where I am super excited and I feel it’s the best stuff I have written in the eyes of a Being as an Ocean fan. Joel too lyrically has pushed himself and I know he’s excited and a little nervous. It’s our sixth record and we have been a band for over ten years, we still get those butterflies before releasing anything.

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How different is ‘Death Can Wait’ compared to ‘Proxy’?

Michael: ‘Proxy’ was our experiment record. Personally I took a lot of notice on people’s criticism of that record. I thought we did something really cool and some people did agree which is the best feeling, but there is the darker side to it where people didn’t like it or didn’t feel it was a Being as an Ocean record. So before we even picked up an instrument to write ‘Death Can Wait’, we sat on a Zoom call and discussed what we wanted to do. It felt like a lot of homework was needed before we started doing demos.

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Do you feel that now you are a duo you have more freedom with ideas on writing?

Michael: Essentially yes. It’s a mixture of both yes and no really. One thing a lot of people pride on when being in the studio is having someone to bounce ideas off. All our previous records there would be at least 3 of 4 of us together at any one time. Now with it just being the two of us and with how everything shifted with the pandemic, there was a lot of times it would just be me by myself in the studio with a producer and then have to wait for Joel to come in a hear it. It’s tough because I love having people there to bounce ideas off. Something that is fun and cool to me could be boring to somebody else. A record is a body of work that we have to collectively present to the world at the end of the day.

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What has the reception been like so far on the singles for the new record?

Michael: The reaction has been way better than I expected. When the singles were released, I would go back and look at the responses at the end of the day. Some of the responses were like “This is the Being as an Ocean I have missed” and that made me feel so good.

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Will there be any songs on the album that are a different to the singles?

Michael: On some parts of song yes. There is one song in particular; the bridge could easily be mistaken for a Comeback Kid or Stick To Your Guns song. There is a lot of heavy influence from artists like that. Even the bass tone we wanted it to sound something like Citizen. We wanted to prove our influences with this record and I feel it really paid off. There is some cool parts, some breakdowns, vocal harmonies, synthesisers. There are definitely some interesting parts.

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Being as an Ocean are back in the UK in February, making this your third visit across the pond in 14 months. Is there a reason behind the frequent return compared to previous tours?

Michael: It’s crazy to think that we come out there that often. The opportunities we get in Europe are too good to pass up on, for example, we are really good friends with Currents and we love them. They were looking for a support band for the tour and it just worked out perfectly. The second date of that tour is the day ‘Death Can Wait’ will be released so we can treat it as a record release tour but still being respectful to Currents as it is their headline tour at the end of the day. We definitely have plans for other parts of the world in 2024.

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What makes touring the UK + Europe different to the US?

Michael: The drives in the UK/Europe are so much shorter. I was just working for another artist in America and there was an 18 hour drive from one show to the other, which is unheard of in Europe. The crowds are all the same though. If they love you as an artist then no matter where you are in the world they still go crazy for you. My favourite ever show was at Camden Underworld back in 2014, the electricity in the room was something else that night.

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What are the essentials on your rider?

Michael: Because I am doing a lot more singing now with how our set list is, throat coat tea, throat sweets, Gatorade, water. If a venue has a good coffee machine that is always a bonus. Tea, honey, granola bars, fruit. You need all that to stay healthy on tour because my first tour in the US I was so excited to try all the fast food restaurants and I felt so bad at the end of it so now I make sure I have I eat healthy and drink plenty of water to stay in check. I do get cravings for Dr Pepper and dill pickle crisps but I don’t make a habit of it.

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Aside from touring, do you have any other plans for 2024?

Michael: We have talked about doing some cool pop-up in cities around the world. So we would have a merch desk and do some acoustic stuff and hang out with people. We got the idea from Jesse of Stick to Your Guns. A lot of the year will be around marketing the record; we have even talked about making a short movie. It’s all ideas at the moment as money and time is a huge factor.

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Do you have any finals words you would like to add?

Michael: The love and continued support of Being As An Ocean has not one day gone unnoticed. We may not be as active online but we have been working so hard behind the scenes to present to the world our best work yet. We cannot wait to share the celebration in venues all around the world.

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A massive thank you to Michael for taking the time out of his morning to chat with Taped about the upcoming record and what is still to come from the band.

‘Death Can Wait’ is scheduled for release 2nd February 2024. Pre-orders are available HERE.

Being as an Ocean will be touring the UK in February, supporting Currents alongside Oceans Ate Alaska and Sentinels on the following dates:

5th February – Southampton, Engine Rooms
6th February – Birmingham, The Mill
7th February – Glasgow Slay
8th February – Leeds, Key Club
9th February – Manchester, Club Academy
10th February – Bristol, The Fleece
11th February – London, O2 Academy Islington