from AOL/All Music Guide -- http://music.aol.com/album/long-gone-and-nearly-there/1360186

Julie Ocean -- Long Gone and Nearly There â€" (Transit of Venus)

The target audience for this Washington D.C. pop combo doesn’t need to be told that Julie Ocean isn’t a female solo artist: they already have the Undertones’ classic 1981 single of the same name memorized. They’re also well familiar with the quartet’s previous work, particularly singer/guitarist Jim Spellman’s stint in much-beloved alterna-popsters Velocity Girl and fellow singer/guitarist Terry Banks’ string of cult favorite twee-pop acts, including Glo-Worm, the Saturday People and Tree Fort Angst. Happily, Long Gone and Nearly There isn’t a throwback, either to the mid-’90s indiepop scene or to the ’80s UK records (like "Julie Ocean" itself) that directly inspired so many of those bands.

These ten songs are utterly timeless: the bracing, jangly rush of the barely two-minute opener "Ten Lonely Words" could have been recorded at any point from 1965 onwards. Crucially, however, there is no sense of retro kitsch even on the most overtly backwards-looking tracks here: "Number 1 Song" and "My Revenge" are pure sweet-tooth power pop, right down to the falsetto harmonies and the fakeout endings, but Julie Ocean are no Flamin Groovies-style genre copycats. "Here Comes Danny" is so overstuffed with clever turns of lyrical phrase, ear-grabbing production tricks and good old-fashioned hooks that its five minutes whiz past in a seeming blink, but what’s most impressive about Long Gone and Nearly There is that nearly every other track on the album manages the same trick in less than three minutes flat.

Julie Ocean understand that brevity is the soul of pop, and that a perfectly constructed two-minute pop song is half as effective at twice the length. When the album’s over just barely 25 minutes after it began, the only logical response is to start the whole thing over again.

-- Stewart Mason, All Music Guide



from ClickyClicky -- http://jbreitling. blogspot. com/2008/04/review-julie-ocean-long-gone-and-nearly. html

Review: Julie Ocean | Long Gone And Nearly There

The very idea of Julie Ocean -- that is, roughly, Velocity Girl + Glo-worm + Swiz = awesome rock band -- is so enticing that the contrarian in us almost hoped that it didn’t work. But the relatively new quartet succeeds marvelously, as evidenced by the exuberant and winsome indie pop on Long Gone And Nearly There. The band’s sunny sounds most obviously reference predecessor Velocity Girl, whose immensely powerful second single "My Forgotten Favorite" (which easily places among our 10 favorite songs) gave way to more traditional pop efforts further along the arc of the ’90s act’s career. The guitar tremelo that opens and closes Julie Ocean’s anthemic "Here Comes Danny" in particular reminds us of Velocity Girl. Under the gloss, smile and "woo oohs" of "Looking At Me/Looking At Your" and "My Revenge" pulses the caffeinated energy -- and certainly the conciseness -- of mighty late ’80s hardcore act Swiz, which counted among its members Julie Ocean drummer Alex Daniels.


But the overarching element of Julie Ocean’s music -- broad, bright melodies delivered with an irresistible guitar-pop fizz -- overshadows the vestigial artifacts of those predecessors. While nothing on Long Gone And Nearly There is overdone, just about everything leaves you wanting more. The set carries only two songs over three minutes in length, and the whole of the record’s 10 tracks transpires in less than a half an hour, so you will be restarting Long Gone about as often as you would flip a vinyl record.

We estimate conservatively that we’ve listened to this record 40 times since receiving it, and we have little doubt that our experience won’t be unique once Long Gone And Nearly There hits racks next month. Philadelphia’s Transit Of Venus label releases the record May 29.

You can stream it in its entirety at Last. FM right now. Click here for those streams, and click below for an MP3 and videos.


from Jersey Beat -- http://www.jerseybeat.com/tinarmor.html

JULIE OCEAN - Long Gone & Nearly There (Transit Of Venus)

Fans of good old American power-pop will embrace this Washington, DC combo’s debut full-length, a cornucopia of jangly guitars, giddy backup vocals, and big happy hooks. Singer/guitarists Jim Spellman and Terry Banks spent time in shoegaze-popsters Velocity Girl and twee-pop innovators Glo-Worm respectively, while the rest of the band hails from the artsy wing of D.C. post-hardcore scene (Swiz, Severin, Sweetbelly Freakdown.)



Given those indier-than-thou roots, you’d expect the band’s surfy sugarcoated pop tunes to be delivered with at least a hint of affectation or ironic distance; but if it’s there, I’m not hearing it. There’s a bit of Beatles pastiche to be sure, and bubblegum backup vocals that recall the Weezer of "Buddy Holly" or mid-Nineties era Superdrag; "1 Song" has the anthemic shoulda-been-a-monster-hit vibe of classic Raspberries.



But there’s no jive, no fooling around, no "look at me" guitar solos or monster drums clogging up the bandwidth - just catchy, clever, extremely hummable power-pop, coming from four guys who have all been through the indie rock wringer, and come out the other side happily sounding like kids again. (Long Gone & Nearly There will be released on May 13; catch a sample at myspace.com/julieoceandc.)







from Dagger -- http://www.daggerzine.com/reviews_main.html

Julie Ocean -- LONG GONE AND NEARLY THERE- (TRANSIT OF VENUS)

It’s pretty much a given that any band that Terry Banks is in, I’m bound to like it. He knocked the socks off the indie crowd with his first band Tree Fort Angst, then did some fine work in St. Christopher and Glo-Worm, and more recently, The Saturday People (with Archie from Velocity Girl). In Julie Ocean he has another V.G. alum in their drummer Jim Spellman (he plays guitar in Julie Ocean) while the rhythm section of drummer Alex Daniels and Hunter Bennett have done time in Swiz and Weatherhead respectively.

Now that introductions are out of the way I’m happy to announce that Julie Ocean kicks ass! Mixing up a tasty stew of 60’s garage, indie rock and bubblegum the songs hit you like an Ali one-two punch with the wiry opener "Ten Lonely Words" leading the pack right into the should-be-a-hit "Number 1 Song" (no pun intended) which then segues into the bashing "My Revenge. "Here Comes Danny" should be a top 10 hit and the final 1:40 of the closer, "Looking at Me/Looking at You", couldnlt have ended this set more perfectly, all sweaty and panting.

I have to say that this is my favorite record that any of these folks have been involved in (and that’s saying a lot as I previously mentioned how big a fan I am of their prior bands) and best of all, the 10 songs blur by in less than half an hour (for those of us with kids and short attentions spans!). Julie Ocean has given me my perfect amount of sugar intake today. www.transitofvenusmusic.com



from BabySue Zine -- http://www.babysue.com/2008-April-LMNOP-Reviews.htmlanchor11878

Julie Ocean - Long Gone and Nearly There (CD, Transit of Venus, Pop)


Nice, bright, hummable pop that sounds instantly familiar. We loved the opening line of the press release that accompanied this disc: "Just because a CD will hold 80 minutes of music doesn’t mean it should." We sure as hell agree with that statement (!) This is a very short album that lasts just over 25 minutes...but in terms of quality, it beats the heck out of many albums that are twice or three times as long.

Julie Ocean is the quartet consisting of Jim Spellman (guitar, vocals), Terry Banks (guitar, vocals), Hunter Bennett (bass), and Alex Daniels (drums). Folks may remember Spellman as a prior member of the 1990s band Velocity Girl.

Long Gone and Nearly There features ten direct, upbeat, catchy guitar tunes that sound something like a cross between The Undertones and The Beach Boys. While this band’s music may be too happy and accessible for underground noise snobs, pop fans are likely to get a mighty big charge out of this album. Groovy tracks include "Ten Lonely Words," "My Revenge," "Complications," and "Looking At Me/Looking At You." (Rating: 5)



from The Big Takeover.com -- http://www.bigtakeover.com/top-ten/Matthew-Berlyant-080309

Julie Ocean â€" Long Gone and Nearly There (Transit of Venus)

The latest release from the great Transit of Venus label is by a wonderfully named (after a great UNDERTONES song) group from DC consisting of JIM SPELLMAN (formerly of VELOCITY GIRL and HIGH BACK CHAIRS) on guitar and vocals, TERRY BANKS (formerly of GLO-WORM and also on guitars and vocals), ALEX DANIELS (formerly of SWIZ and SEVERIN) on drums and HUNTER BENNETT (formerly of the post-GOVERNMENT ISSUE outfit WEATHERHEAD) on bass.

Regardless of the members’ impressive pedigrees, however, this is simply a fusion of early ’90s indie-rock and power-pop that works really well. Occupying the ground between groups like THE WEDDING PRESENT, early GUIDED BY VOICES and SEBADOH on one hand and say, WEEZER, early CHEAP TRICK and even DESCENDENTS and DAG NASTY on occasion (Daniels’ drumming recalls BILL STEVENSON of Descendents and the vocals on some tracks hint at PETER CORTNER circa Dag Nasty’s Field Day at times), there are ten songs in twenty-five minutes. Any fan of the aforementioned bands and any early ’90s indie-rock with bite will enjoy this.


PITCHFORK News :

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/49155-dischordindie-pop-vets-release-debut-as-julie-ocean

Dischord/Indie Pop Vets Release Debut as Julie Ocean

Like a little pop puzzle, DC foursome Julie Ocean formed from the pieces of more indie bands than we can wrap our heads around. With a collective résumé that includes time spent in Velocity Girl, Glo-Worm, Swiz, Weatherhead, and Dischord acts the High Back Chairs and Severin, let’s just say these dudes have credentials.

Julie Ocean will release their debut album, Long Gone and Nearly There, via Philly label Transit of Venus on May 13. Produced by Geoff Sanoff (Luna, Secret Machines, Fountains of Wayne), Long Gone sports 10 songs and clocks in at less than 30 minutes. The group will support the record with a couple shows in and near their hometown, and they have plans to play a larger East Coast tour in the future.

Long Gone and Nearly There:

01 Ten Lonely Words
02 1 Song
03 My Revenge
04 At the Appointed Hour
05 Here Comes Danny
06 Bright Idea
07 Complications
08 Ebb & Flow
09 There’s a Place (In the Back of My Mind)
10 Looking at Me/Looking at You

Julie Ocean:

04-05 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
05-09 Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live






OTHER JULIE OCEAN MEDIA CLIPS:

From The D.C. City Paper.....

"D.C.’s fledgling outfit Julie Ocean spins cute, sugary, poppy yarns... But what else could you expect from an Undertones-referencing band assembled from the spare parts of Velocity Girl, The Saturday People, and Severin? The power-pop quartet is so green that, presently, its only recorded musical output is the four songs on its MySpace page (myspace.com/julieoceandc). However, it probably won’t be long before toe-tapping songs such as "At the Appointed Hour" and "Here Comes Danny" end up on some lovelorn high schooler’s mix tape made for an unrequited crush..."



Review of 9:30 Club show, opening for Apples in Stereo:

http://rogo2000.blogspot.com/

"The evening’s opening act was the excellent Julie Ocean. This was the second time I’ve seen them, and they were great... they sounded like a band that ought to be playing the 9:30 Club a lot more in the future. Can’t wait to get an album from these guys at some point."



from ClickyClicky blog:

"Let’s just go for the ’90s trifecta today, shall we? What do you get when you combine former members of retro hardcore giants Swiz, dream poppers Velocity Girl and twee standard-bearers Glo-Worm? This is a pretty easy question: you get a new band called Julie Ocean, who first blipped on the radar last May here and here. The D.C.-based quartet will release its debut Long Gone And Nearly There on Transit Of Venus (Trolleyvox, The Shimmers) this spring... Julie Ocean has posted two tracks at its MySpace yert that sound not too dissimilar from Simpatico!-era Velocity Girl’s overcharged take on ’60s-inflected bubblegum rock."

from D.C. City Paper:
http://www. washingtoncitypaper. com/display. php?id=34825

One Track Mind

What’s new in the local music scene, a few minutes at a time

By Aaron Leitko

April 3, 2008

Long Gone and Nearly There
Julie Ocean

"Standout Track: No. 2, "1 Song," a three-and-a-half-minute buzz bomb of jangling guitars and twee-pop sweetness. Like a classic Pavement tune, the song makes ample use of power chords and fuzzy leads. Unlike a classic Pavement tune, the lyrics make sense: "You pretend that we were lovers/Mix it up I’ll fix it up until it’s right/Then we’ll all just fade away and we’ll turn it into a No. 1 song," sings guitarist Jim Spellman over Terry Banks’ oohs and ahhs.


Musical Motivation: According to Spellmanâ€"a former member of the indie-pop band Velocity Girl, now a married dad working as a TV producerâ€""1 Song" is his reconciliation with the end of his wild years. "It’s sort of a ’Love the One You’re With’ for the early part of this century," he says. Spellman admits that much of Julie Ocean’s music will sound familiar to longtime fans. "These are the kind of songs that speak to me, they’re not filled with irony or a lot of concern," he says. "It’s basically the same four chords that I’ve used since I started playing guitarsâ€"and I like those chords.


Ad Mission: After Velocity Girl split in 1996, Spellman spent a few years looking for another indie-pop band, eventually responding to a City Paper classified for a band called Friendship Flowershop. Unbeknownst to Spellman, the ad had been placed by his old friend Terry Banks, formerly of Glo-Worm and the Saturday People. They clicked and later re-­christened their band Julie Ocean. "It was kind of a desperate move," says Spellman. "But it only has to work once."



from Chickfactor.com:

"meet julie ocean!

chickfactor is, and will always be, an insular, elitist little insidery unit full of nepotism, favoritism, and the shameless promotion of our friends and loved ones. we are not ashamed of this. quite often the only reason we are friends with people is that we wanted to meet them after hearing their music, seeing their art, eating their food, etc. oh so what! cut us some slack. at least we are not purveying only what the PRs want us to purvey!

the latest fab pop act we are pushing is called julie ocean, a d.c. supergroup featuring our pals terry banks (whose stellar pop acts tree fort angst, glo-worm and the saturday people have been known to perform at cf parties and be featured in the fanzine’s pages) and jim spellman (ex of velocity girl, whose various members wrote for and dated members of chickfactor magazine!). oh the shame.

check out these two offerings on you tube why don’t you. oh, alex from severin and hunter from weatherhead are also in the band and the foursome’s debut long-player, long gone and nearly there, hits the shops on may 13."



from USA Today.com:

http://blogs. usatoday. com/popcandy/

"Podcast update: Dive in to Julie Ocean

... Enjoy the delightful sounds of Julie Ocean, a sweet-sounding indie band from my city. These guys have a splendid new album on the way called Long Gone and Nearly There, and I play a pop-tastic track called 1 Song. You may have read about them on Pitchfork -- members have spent time in several bands, including Velocity Girl, Glo-Worm and Severin."



from In Love With These Times, In Spite of These Times, UK music blog:

Julie Ocean... a band name that celebrates an overlooked masterpiece... songs taking up where The Saturday People left off in many ways, a joyous jumble of British-style power-pop a la The Jam, and the hurtling, endearing East Coast indie adrenalin of prime Tree Fort Angst... records soon, please...



from Idolator.com:

Listening Station: Jumping In With Julie Ocean

"Thanks to friend of Idolator (and commenter) Jon Solomon for sending us the MySpace page of the DC outfit Julie Ocean. Their band name name-checks an Undertones song and their members include guys who have done time in Velocity Girl, Tree Fort Angst, Severin, and Glo-Worm, so you probably aren’t surprised that a) they play spazzy, hooky guitar pop and b) we’re very much into it, thank you. Of the four songs offered up by their MySpace page, we’re partial to the nicely speedy "At The Appointed Hour."