photo: Darin Back
Getting their start as teenagers in the late ‘80s in Hershey, PA, The Ocean Blue released their self-titled debut on the famed Sire Records label that launched many of their most beloved bands in the U.S., including the Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, and the Pretenders. Embraced by alternative radio and MTV, the band quickly made their mark with early singles “Between Something And Nothing,” “Drifting, Falling” and “Ballerina Out of Control,” each Top Ten hits on U.S. college and Billboard’s Modern Rock Radio charts. Early success set in motion a run of four major label albums— The Ocean Blue (1989 Sire), Cerulean (1991 Sire), Beneath the Rhythm and Sound (1993 Sire), and See The Ocean Blue (1996 Mercury). The band continued with string of independent releases in the 2000s, including Davy Jones Locker (2000 March), Waterworks (2003 W.A.R.), Ultramarine (2013 Korda) and Kings and Queens/Knaves and Thieves (2019 Korda). With eight albums and several EPs under their belt, the band continues to perform and record around the world, with work underway on a new album, and shows in cities throughout the U.S. in 2025 and 2026.
The Ocean Blue (pictured above L-R) is David Schelzel (vocals, guitar), Bobby Mittan (bass), Peter Anderson (drums), and Oed Ronne (guitar and keyboards).
TOUR DATES
Up Next in 2026
Jan 16-18 Park City, UT The Egyptian Theatre
Jan 29 Asheville, SC Diana Wortham Theatre
Jan 30 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre
Feb 6 Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
Feb 7 Boulder, CO The Fox Theatre
Feb 20 Hopewell, VA The Historic Beacon Theatre
Feb 21 Alexandria, VA The Birchmere
Mar 5 Homer, NY Center for the Arts
Mar 6 Shirley, MA Bull Run
Mar 7 Pawling, NY Daryl’s House
Feature and Interview on NPR Weekend Edition
“Kings and Queens” Video Premieres in Billboard
“All The Way Blue” Video Premieres in Paste
“It Takes So Long” Premieres on KCRW
More Features and Interviews in Tape Op, Modern Drummer, Rhino Records Podcast, and KEXP
“Kings And Queens / Knaves And Thieves… is the latest entry into what appears to be their next trilogy of perfect albums — their dark and epic ”The Empire Strikes Back” if you will. Beneath the shimmering guitars, earworm hooks, and David Schelzel’s dreamy, lovelorn, and lamentful croon, are beautiful stories, abstract visions, easter eggs to previous albums, and eloquent social commentary.”
“The Ocean Blue’s seventh album Kings And Queens / Knaves And Thieves…efficiently co-opts the lush and airy artiness of Britpop’s more lavish leanings without sounding dated or redundant. Like much of the rest of the album, the title track “Kings And Queens” demonstrates the Ocean Blue’s continued proficiency as expert assimilators of all things strummy, Anglophilic and slightly world-weary. ”
“[H]ere they sound like masters of the genre. Cuts like “Love Doesn’t Make It Easy on Us” and “Therein Lies the Problem with My Life,” are immediately memorable anthems that make the whole notion of emulating your idols while somehow retaining your own style, sound deceptively easy... However, it’s the title track, with its shimmering synth-and-guitar backdrop and poetic ruminations on the fragility of life and the state of the world, that best represent how The Ocean Blue have updated their early teenage pop ennui, ably shifting forward for fans who’ve grown into middle age right along with them.”
“‘All The Way Blue’ is a continuation of the yearning nostalgic pop that makes them so instantaneously beatific. With sublime piano, hyper-melodic guitars, neon synths, melodramatic lyrics and understated vocals, The Ocean Blue achieve emotional potency without any bombast.”
“All The Way Blue”
“It Takes So Long”
“When indie pop darlings The Ocean Blue returned in 2013 with their excellent album Ultramarine it heralded a second chapter for the band. We’re happy to report that their new album finds them crafting the same brand of delicately nuanced indie pop you’ve come to love from them, featuring crystalline guitars, glimmering piano lines, and David Schelzel’s yearning vocals.”
“It’s fresh but also sounds like beautiful, vintage Ocean Blue.”
“Ultramarine isn’t just a return to form; it’s one of The Ocean Blue’s best albums.”
“The 12 songs on Ultramarine recall the sincere clarity of the band’s self-titled 1989 debut and 1991’s Cerulean with songs that soar with grace, blend cascading guitars and rich keyboards with lyrics that manage to evoke sentimentality, optimism and an appropriate romantic longing without being cloying or grating.”
“The band’s signature sound — jazzy, atmospheric pop — has aged nicely, as has frontman David Schelzel’s voice....The record is a nice return and the band’s signature, dreamy/melodic sound still plays well in 2013.”
“Ultramarine (four and 1/2 stars out of five) is a true return to form for fans of their two biggest albums while providing a perfect entry point for fans of heartbreakingly gorgeous, shimmering guitar pop…”