Labyrinthine Oceans may now spend most of their time in London, but the Newcastle-originating grunge-gaze group are preparing to unleash their latest output in the shape of a new five-track EP. The release will be followed by the group’s eagerly anticipated Tyneside return.‘Everyone Was Alive’ is the first studio EP from Labyrinthine Oceans since a major line-up change in 2023, exploring themes of depression, grief and derealisation. Across its five tracks, the North East originating alternative outfit has carved out a dreamy, grunge-gaze-laced wall of intricate instrumentals and gripping melodies – demonstrating their unique sound, now more formed than ever. Adam Kennedy caught up with Julia O’Neill-Walton from the band to talk about their forthcoming new EP, their progress over the last twelve months, the development of the band’s sound and their upcoming headline date in Newcastle.
Looking back on last year, how was 2024 for Labyrinthine Oceans?
It was really great. We had a lot of firsts that were really fun like playing in Europe and getting more stuff out. It was very busy, but it’s been great. And it’s felt like we’ve settled into our sound and we’re just getting out there a bit more. So, yeah, 2024 was good.
You are preparing to release a new EP called ‘Everyone Was Alive’ on Wednesday 9th April. How are you feeling about the release?
I’m really excited. I think it feels like the most formed our sound has been thus far. And it feels like we’ve moved in the right direction for what we want to do in the future. It’s really exciting having that going out in the world and, hopefully, people connect to that. It discusses quite difficult topics. And I think it’s really important to us that it finds people who might need that in their life at the moment. It’s always exciting when releases come out but I think this one feels so different from past things we’ve released. It feels like we are moving into the next chapter of the band.
Which bands would you say have shaped your sound and musical direction?
I think for this EP, we’ve got key influences like Radiohead, Deftones, Slowdive, and bits of Title Fight – kind of sitting in that space. And then elements of My Bloody Valentine in the tones. They’re all quite important references as well. We referenced a lot of the Deftones’ drum sounds and some of the guitar sounds. So it was kind of going from those bits and taking them and trying to make something that felt like us with those influences.
You’re playing The Cluny in Newcastle on Saturday 26th April. How much are you looking forward to that show?
Oh, we’re very excited. The Cluny is our favourite – we absolutely love it. By the time of the show, it’ll have been about a year and four months since the last time we headlined it. And it was so fun last time – we had a great time. We can’t wait to put on an even better show as we’ve moved on so much since then. And, yeah, I think it’ll be really fun. We can’t wait for it.
‘Everyone Was Alive’, the new EP from Labyrinthine Oceans, will be released on Wednesday 9th April. The band will headline The Cluny in Newcastle on Saturday 26th April. For further information and tickets, please visit labyrinthineoceans.com.
