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Critic's Review
Stephen Cramer, All Music Guide
The debut CD by the Pacific Ocean, Birds Don't Think They're Flying, assembles eight compositions written and recorded in New York City. Former Versus member Edward Baluyut and Connie Lovatt, also of Containe, enthusiastically pursued a musical relationship, and this CD is the product of their initial collaborations. Most of the songs are slowed down, with intricate instrumentation, lead by Lovatt's direct and focused vocals. The first track, "Duet," could easily have been the title of the album, as the songs are primarily a musical duet of Baluyut and Lovatt's interplay, with guest musician Pat Ramos on drums on one track. The pace picks up on the third track, "Two Twenty," with Baluyut's rhythmic guitar strain leading the attack. The pace returns to it's subdued pace on "If I Could Fall," with the duo matching each other word for word in duet at the song's beginning. The song rises and falls, finding new energy throughout. The band has a knack for creating uniquely pretty music, either slowed-down or mid-tempo. The Pacific Ocean has an original sound, and are not easily pigeonholed into any of the normal indie rock clichés. One might compare them to Low, but Lovatt's vocals stretch in a different direction than Low's Mimi Parker. The music is more in the vein of Seam, Codeine, or even Helium. On the disc's final track, "Last Minute," Lovatt repeats the disc's title, "Birds Don't Think They're Flying." The closer is easily the prettiest and simplest song of the batch. Altogether, an impressive debut.
