The Ocean – Solaris

Written by on 13-10-2026 at 21:50.

The turbulent seas are everchanging. For the past ten years, The Ocean seemed largely unaffected by that, as the lineup remained remarkably stable for a long time… Until, in 2024, no fewer than three members told bandleader Robin Staps that it was time for them to move on (and that perhaps it was time for him too, read our interview with Robin). And these were no minor departures either. The most notable ‘deserter’ was charismatic frontman Loïc, whose emotional vocals and manic stage presence (during one show, the man once broke both legs after landing badly) had given the collective a recognisable face for well over a decade. Add to that the departure of drummer Paul Seidel, whose razor-sharp rhythmic precision and thunderous hammer blows further expanded the dynamics that had always been a hallmark of the band… You would have every reason to throw in the towel. And yet, here we are with the new album Solaris.

It appears that The Ocean is still very much a collective, because Robin has gone further than simply replacing a few ‘pawns’. Partly by chance, The Ocean Collective returns with not two but three guitarists, and not one but two vocalists. Naturally, this opens up possibilities. Possibilities that the band explores and exploits extensively on Solaris . The natural timbre of new vocalist Enrico’s voice is, in essence, fairly close to Loïc’s. He too can bring considerable warmth to the quieter passages, while delivering devastating blows in the heavier sections. Robin has therefore covered all the basics, and it is clear that the band will still be able to do justice to its older material live with the new lineup. Vocalist Lane is a different story altogether. Her voice, which on some tracks is primarily used to add colour, is sharper, more emotional and, at times, downright insane. To get an idea of the madness she brings to the table, all you need to do is watch Lane glare into the camera, seething with rage and disgust, in the version of Belligerence below, recorded live in a studio in Morocco. I think I can hear the influence of new guitarist Emmanuel Jessua most clearly in the serene, zen-like passage in Simulacra, which seems to bear the strong imprint of his other band, Hypno5e.

Good story, but let’s first take a look at what Solaris actually is. Well, originally, it is a psychological science-fiction film from the 1970s, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Broadly speaking, the story follows a man who sets out to investigate whether an old space station orbiting the planet Solaris should remain operational after a series of strange events. He learns that one of the researchers has taken his own life and that the other two are no longer entirely in their right minds. Before long, he himself is visited by his wife, who died ten years earlier. He knows this is not reality, but ultimately chooses (?) to live with her anyway. And that is quite enough for now. Thank you, Wikipedia!

Although Robin explains in the interview that the music was initially written without the film serving as a clearly defined concept, this is most definitely a case of “cinema without pictures” (as Steven Wilson described his new album at a listening session last week). We hear a gentle introduction that slowly draws us into the musical narrative, followed by a detailed second act in which the story and atmosphere unfold across multiple layers, culminating in the furious climax that is Belligerence. For me, this is immediately the album’s standout track, with the new lineup firing on all cylinders and demonstrating everything it has to offer. The closing third act, by contrast, seems to lack a little focus. Ultima Esperanza is still a beautiful song, full of themes searching for something to hold on to (an important theme in the film), and featuring a stellar performance from Lane.

Up to and including Ultima Esperanza , I am convinced I am listening to the album of the year. Rich, dynamic and captivating in a way I have not encountered anywhere else in 2026. The song’s title (‘last hope’) takes on a double meaning for me, however, because after that, The Ocean seems to drift away from both its own narrative and its own sound with the krautrock-inspired Milk Of My Dreams and 51°28′30″S, 73°6′11″W, which continues the themes of its predecessor but adds an electronic (dance) beat. I can hear a bit of U.N.K.L.E. in there. I quite like that band/act, but these songs fail to connect with the strong (and gloriously rock-heavy) first six tracks. I understand that Robin collaborated with Tangerine Dream specifically on Milk Of My Dreams. That must have been a dream come true for him, but these somewhat emptier-sounding tracks represent a very substantial break from what came before. Well, perhaps that is precisely one of the ideas behind it…

Right, now that that is out of the way, let’s turn to the first six songs, most of which are truly magnificent and closer to the band’s familiar sound. Apart from the dreamy intro 52°30’11″N, 13°26’12” (the coordinates of the band’s studio in Berlin), these are long to very long tracks. The magically beautiful Simulacra even clocks in at over seventeen minutes. On top of that, each of these songs unfolds so many layers, dynamics and themes that, individually, they contain more than enough ideas for an entire album. That is impressive, although it also means that some listeners may find themselves looking around in bewilderment halfway through a song, wondering where on earth they have ended up. Fortunately, there is help at hand in the form of those familiar The Ocean hooks: guitar or vocal lines that sweep you along on first listen as though you have known them all your life. These were precisely the hooks I felt were somewhat lacking on Holocene, so it is already clear that I will be spinning Solaris far more often than its predecessor. In fact, I already have.

Examples of those ‘hooks’? The repeated line “It’s with a heavy heart that I am writing you these lines”, which gives a voice to the grief and sense of distance associated with a departure in Departure Song. The lie that follows, “My Friend, I will not be gone for long”, is infuriating, and hits even harder because it is delivered so convincingly and movingly in a passage where Enrico’s warm voice and Lane’s ethereal vocals blend beautifully into a particularly lovely vocal melody. The fact that we have now departed becomes clear as the cosmic-sounding guitars streak past like solar flares. On the first single, Light Pollution, the band states a truth as plain as day: “The notion that technology equates emancipation is a fairytale”, is put forward in a song about modern technology and the loss of personal space. Perhaps that is why the glowing guitars here evoke Pink Floyd and, by extension, a bygone era. The hook here is primarily the vocal line “It hasn’t really been so long since our communication had become intercontinental”, which you can sing along to after just one listen, despite all its darkness. It hardly makes you feel cheerful, which is precisely why it somehow does. The same goes for the stuttering rhythms, which perhaps for the first time on this album reveal the band’s core sound in all its glory.

I mentioned Simulacra earlier, and with good reason. Given the track’s length and the various themes that circle around one another and occasionally return, it can sometimes take a moment to work out exactly where you are. Personally, I have no problem getting thoroughly lost in music from time to time, especially when it is this well put together, but for some listeners this may be a bit too much, particularly since parts of the song sound like a more fully realised Holocene track. There is quite a lot of electronics in this sprawling masterpiece, then, but we are kept firmly on our toes by the well-timed hooks, the layered guitar work, the playful bass, the nimble drumming and Lane’s desperate screams. And then Enrico’s thundering voice on top of it all: “This is just the beginning of understanding what you’ve been running from!”

Phew, what a ride! And now for the conclusion… That has to be that Solaris has turned out to be a grand, captivating work. An album that may demand some time, but offers enough points of connection to keep you coming back, each listen bringing a deeper understanding of and greater affection for the record. Whether that understanding and affection will also develop for the final two tracks remains very much to be seen. Hence the score below, which falls just short of a 9. For now, I am already very curious to see what happens when the band visits the Low Lands in early 2027.

Score:

89/100

Label:

Pelagic Records, 2026

Tracklisting:

  1. 52°30’11” N, 13°26’12“ E
  2. Departure Song
  3. Light Pollution
  4. Simulacra
  5. Belligerence
  6. Ultima Esperanza
  7. Milk Of My Dreams
  8. 51°28’30” S, 73°6’11”

Line-up:

  • Robin Staps – Guitar, vocals
  • Mattias Hägerstrand – Bass
  • Jordi Farré – Drums, percussion
  • Enrico Tiberi – Vocals, keyboards
  • Lane Shi – Vocals
  • Emmanuel Jessua – Guitar
  • Marco Gennaro – Guitar

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