- The Ocean Party, or as their business cards state; “the busiest band in Melbourne” are back with their Guilt EP mere months after releasing their most recent full length Beauty Point in August of this year. Churning out songs like it’s, well, their job, seems to come naturally to the six piece; the latest offering is a handful of languid, tropical, nostalgic guitar pop gems that will remind you of suburban back yards, shading your eyes from the late afternoon sun and Golden Gaytimes melting down your wrists - at first.

Instrumentally reminiscent of Real Estate or Beach Fossils The Ocean Party’s lyrics are confessional, introspective and touch on the ever-present mental health struggle too many of us face. The jarring honesty of the lyrics in second track Tell is smoothed by clean guitar and Lachlan Denton’s mellow vocals. Layered over a bed of glittery, summer guitar driven melody, Denton croons “If I tell you that I'm fine / and you tell me that I'm wrong / it is likely that I’ll hide / or maybe I’m already gone” telling an all too familiar tale of being so dogged by depression you can’t even talk to your mates about it.

Similar themes arise on final track Mine, this time, thinly veiled by self-deprecating stabs, Denton’s voice ringing out, echoing and in earnest “I’m a human I don’t have a clue”. His ever present Strine twang further reinforcing that Aussie bloke rub-some-dirt-in-it mentality.

It’s no surprise then that The Party named their EP Guilt, an emotion so interwoven into depression and anxiety you could find it on any reputable symptom list. The brilliant balance of heavy and light on this EP is as masterful as it is effortless - it is layered and purposeful, the darkness hidden in plain sight behind the golden haze, the pretty composition, the sticky sweet of the ice-cream. Much like in most of us.

- Fiona Priddey.