It's fair to say Ocean Alley are currently riding high off the back of their very well-received 2024 album, 'Love Balloon'.
The current tour celebrates this album's success across some eclectic venues, including regional areas. Friday's show at Brisbane Showgrounds (30 January) was no exception, and despite being an eclectic line-up, it's a great venue to enjoy outdoor music.
The three times I have seen Ocean Alley previously have all been outdoor shows, and perhaps that suits the laid-back, laconic style of these musicians from the Northern Sydney beaches.
One thing that was clearly apparent on Friday night was the incredible support the band has built with a young audience. This is great to see, and to some extent shows – in my mind – an ongoing appreciation of an earlier musical era, being the 1970s.
I constantly hear references to music from this era in the Alley's music, and they're happy to reference it across their work. The huge success of their Player cover 'Baby Come Back' a decade ago is one indication of this, as is the evolving guitar playing of Mitch Galbraith who consistently invokes a number of his (1960s-'70s) influences; from Carlos Santana, David Gilmour and Jimi Hendrix.
Ocean Alley - image © Bill Prendergast
'Love Balloon' contains a list of high quality tracks, which have gained very wide popular and notably youth appeal. This is perhaps no better reflected than through Ocean Alley's recent storming of triple j's Hottest 100.
'Tangerine' was the obvious winning release off 'Love Balloon', having generated significant success in the 2024 Hottest 100. The 2025 success was broader, across 'First Blush', 'Left Of The Dealer' and 'Drenched'. However, the music quality is broader again across a range of styles, notably introducing a country feel to some of the music, including my standout from the Friday night show.
Friday's show saw Ocean Alley supported by three impressive acts. Australian singer-songwriter Ruby Fields – hailing from Cronulla – played a great set, featuring her best-known piece 'Dinosaurs' and culminating with the lovely 'Kitchen' then an unreleased track 'Muscle'.
Her lovely voice was very listenable, even to those unfamiliar with her music, and it was an ideal warm-up for what was to follow.
Ruby Fields - image © Bill Prendergast
US indie pop band Rainbow Kitten Surprise (RKS) followed, and while hard to pigeonhole, they do show some influences of The Smiths, and perhaps some similarities to Australia's Little Birdy. Lead singer, Ela Melo cuts an impressive visual appearance onstage, and really gives the band its energy.
Melo and the bass player hammed it up during instrumental segments, and drummer Jess Haney was constantly mixing things up behind Melo, switching from drumsticks to egg shakers and back in the midst of one piece, which wound up as a stomp.
The set included numbers that fused such diverse influences as Barry White and Sade, and Melo was really able to stretch out her lovely voice, which at some stages moved to approach Amy Winehouse.
The final piece, 'It's Called: Freefall' was well-known by the audience, and Melo was laying on the floor, then dancing in a style of Kate Bush's 'Wuthering Heights' combined with facial expressions hailing from Japanese Noh theatre, in a great visual end to their excellent set.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise - image © Bill Prendergast
Nothing But Thieves hit the stage next and they clearly already had strong support within the crowd, and are huge in the UK. Their UK success culminated in a #1 album during 2023, 'Dead Club City'.
Hailing from Essex, lead singer Conor Mason told the crowd how they had become friends with Ocean Alley on an earlier tour, and when the Alley invited them to tour, it was a no-brainer to depart the UK winter for Australia's summery vibes.
Their music gets pinned as alternative or indie rock, but there is a healthy dose of pure dance music in their catalogue. One striking feature of their music, and Friday night's show, was the incredible vocal range of Mason.
It was most apparent mid set on 'City Haunts', which kicked off with Mason almost singing in falsetto, before closing out the song in a more traditional and popular manner.
Mason cut a great look onstage with no gimmicks, wearing a white t-shirt adorned with a red heart, and a pair of white pants resembling karate gear.
Talking to a number of punters after the set, I was told of tears during the piece 'If I Get High', and heard similar thoughts that I had had as the set progressed: how amazing Mason's voice was, and how closely it resembled the studio works.
Nothing But Thieves - image © Bill Prendergast
Ocean Alley hit a completely dark stage unannounced. Most in the crowd were unaware they had taken their place until the opening notes of 'Tangerine' rang out on Baden Donegal's guitar.
Most of their shows the past 12 months have kicked off with this piece, and it's a striking way to commence their set. Of course, the band played some of their earlier, best-known works, from 'Touch Back Down', the brilliant and moody 'Tombstone', the massive 'Confidence', 'Happy Sad', the aforementioned 'Baby Come Back' and 'Yellow Mellow'.
I always have favourite moments at shows, and I'm also looking for the crowd favourite. For the crowd, I'd probably give it to 'Mellow Yellow', for the shrieks upon hearing the very funky opening featuring at least two guitars played through wah-wah effects.
Ocean Alley - image © Bill Prendergast
Next up would be 'Happy Sad', where Baden brought the energy down considerably wandering the stage while singing; even doing one verse seated at the front of the stage.
For me the top picks were the classic 'Tombstone' early in the set, and 'Down The Line' from 'Love Balloon'. It's probably not the best-known piece off the latest album, but it is a fantastic song.
The album really adopts a strong country influence in at least three of the songs, and I think this is by far the best. 'Down The Line' saw guitarist Mitch Galbraith switch to a Telecaster, which features in so much country music, and kicked it off again with a very moody introduction.
The country feel was exaggerated by the lovely country-style drum work of Tom O'Brien, which had that steam-train (double beat) type feel. Overall theirs was a fantastic set, which featured just the right mix of classics and new work, and all of the new work was totally familiar to the young crowd.
Ocean Alley - image © Bill Prendergast
Realistically, these guys could have put on an equally exciting concert if they had chosen a completely different set list, such is the quality of their back catalogue.
The encore wound up with three pieces from 'Love Balloon'. 'First Blush' was performed in front of a set beautifully lit floral petals, with 'Drenched', the finale, winding up the evening with fireworks emblazoning the arena.
Ocean Alley is a band that should be seen live to appreciate the amazing quality of their music, which puts them very close to – if not at the top of – the list of current amazing Australian musical acts.
