MUSIC REVIEW: Octopie - “Green Divine” (2024)

While I’m still generally winding down from music journalism, there’s always a band here or there that’s piqued my interest enough times that I keep an ear open for them. These bands include acts that have, more and more recently, been outside of the metal scene: acts like Smalltime Players, Buko Shane, King of None, Samane, Mia Hafrén, and today, Octopie! Their upcoming release, “Green Divine,” is due in December via Eclipse Music, and I have been quite enthusiastically looking forward to a new album from this band since the first time I saw them live by accident in 2022. 

Amazing cover art by Elina Laurén

In case you’re new here, I often like to use this first paragraph to give a general personal history of the artist, so if you’d like to compare your favorites to mine to see how comparable our tastes are, this next paragraph is for you! After all, music is subjective! So, with that in mind, feel free to skip down to the next paragraph if you’re not interested in my personal history with Octopie’s music.

I first learned of Octopie’s existence back in 2022 when I took my cub to see my friend’s band, From Grotto, who were playing at Bar Loose with King of Sweden and Astral Bazaar. However, Astral Bazaar had to cancel, so Octopie were brought in as a replacement. My son made psytrance music himself, so going to see psych bands was something fun for us to do together. I can still remember us watching Octopie and staring from the stage, to each other, and back to the stage, going, “OMG what is this, this is insane and possibly the greatest thing ever!” This was doubly mind-fucking because I recall trying to listen to their 2015 release, “The Adventures of Harry and Walrus Kane,” before the show but immediately wrote it off as “weird The Beatles shit” (I’m not really into The Beatles, I’m sorry to say). However, I saw them again at Love Potion Psych Fest 2023 (possibly because I told the promoter how great they were) and they were once again a major highlight of the night, which led me to feel like, okay, whoever the band was in 2015, they’ve changed a lot since then, so I really can’t wait for any music they release from here on out. Currently, if you were to ask me, before hearing “Green Divine” what I think of Octopie, I’d tell you that they’re a phenomenal live band with a singer who sounds like Einar Solberg from Leprous but doing psychedelic prog instead of prog metal. Also, they have great use of brass. 

So before I get into the music, here’s what I’ve learned about “Green Divine” from the EPK: Octopie decided to go big or go home, so this is actually a 2-disc concept album, set in a dystopian world where instruments are banned and music is demoted to a form of political propaganda. The album, in short, follows the story of the musical underground’s rebellion, as seen through the main character, Diamond, who goes on a personal journey to reconnect to nature and music after discovering the band Hippie Shakes and seeing (or rather, hearing) the power of instruments. Cool, color me very interested right up front! I’d love to have these guys as guests on Unleashed sometime to talk more about this story! 

Alright, so first things first, before I talk about the album as a whole… Tom Tamlander (vocals, bass) has truly the most bonkers singing voice. I would love to know what his vocal range is because I’d bet he could easily destroy me in a falsetto battle. Plus, you know he’s doing it correctly because his vibrato is effortless every time. Also worth noting that his vibrato is incredible, but he doesn’t overdo it by using it allll the time, which is the only complaint I have about Anneke van Giersbergen sometimes. So whatever he was doing to blow me and my cub away 2 years ago? He’s doubled down on that and spends this entire album exploring a wild range of sounds. I’m fairly sure that I could just sit in front of him and let him sing literally anything at me for 5 hours and not get bored the entire time. Furthermore, I can never predict what he’s going to do next. So for someone who feels like I’ve seen and heard it all musically, to find a band who is constantly keeping me on my toes like this is nothing short of fantastic. 

In the same vein, I have to also shout out the rest of the band: Sauli Meilähde (horns), Alex Mikkola (guitars), Axel Thesleff (keyboards), and Petteri Kontio (drums, percussion). Everyone in this band seems to be a top-notch musician with a great deal of class and style. Plus, they’re making some magic when working together, with the exact sort of funky groovy that I love from bands like From Grotto, with even crazier progressive stylistic and time changes throughout. They are, as a collective, wizards at their craft. 

Now, musically, this album is a complex adventure and if, like me, you were listening to a demo, you might find yourself unsure where some songs start and some end, though there are a few less ambiguous tracks, like “I Hold a Letter,” which comes to a conclusive halt at the end, so it doesn’t all feel like one massively long song. The album lures you in as it begins with gentle strings and horns in “Dirt and Soil,” which is eventually joined by soft and high vibrato-driven vocal lines. It’s a very enticing intro to what is to come. 

From here, what can I say that doesn’t spoil the whole album for you? It twists, it turns, it’s funky, it’s fun, it’s all over the place, yet perfectly sensible… It also reminds me of classic psychedelic rock but without specifically bringing anyone to mind. Well, they do still bring The Beatles to mind, but not in the sense that they sound like The Beatles, but rather, this album would make an equally fun movie as Yellow Submarine, but perhaps less drug-fueled. Or maybe not? I couldn’t say. I’m only sorry that I didn’t have the lyrics so I could explore the story more. 

There’s slick jams, amazing piano breakdowns, fantastic flutes, funky organs… what doesn’t this album have, really? I felt extremely rushed writing this review because I wasn’t sure when the release date was and then I realized that I could probably listen to this album a hundred times and still not be able to summarize it succinctly. You can put it on as background music or immerse yourself deeply into the story and atmosphere. While it’s a very intense album musically, it’s a really enjoyable journey. It’s also a two-disc album, so you’re in for a pretty long ride if you hop on this train. 

I can only say that I recommend this album completely! If you’re a fan of progressive music, psychedelic music, or classic acts from the ‘60s and ‘70s, “Green Divine” is a masterpiece of musical talent and taste that will surely take you on an incredible hippy journey that might help you, too, reconnect with nature and music. You never know!

Tracklist

Disc I

1. Dirt and Soil

2. The Beauty of Our Minds

3. The Harbingers

4. Paris Boy

5. I Hold a Letter

6. Green Love

7. How High Can Man Be?

Disc II

1. The Spells They Cast

2. Summer Is Here

3. Dollar City Blues

4. Rockets and Dreams

5. Do it Better

6. Green Divine

7. Finally Together

8. Good or Naughty

9. Humble Ourselves

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