Album Review: Neil Young – Oceanside Countryside

Neil Young is a true singer/songwriter, consistently releasing new music. Each album stays true to Young’s true nature and sound. Oceanside Countryside is naturally very in touch with Young’s brand; this album is soothing and light.

The opening track, “Sail Away,” is a sweet love song. Young describes in this song that as long as the two people can escape and be together, nothing else matters. “You could lose me on the freeway, but I would still make it back alive as long as we could sail away.”

With a more uplifting guitar riff, “Goin’ Back” steadily remains on the same sonic plane. Along with the theme of Oceanside Countryside, this song is an easy listen with a simple yet effective production. Leading into “Human Highway,” a country/folk sound with repetitive lyricism, Young is singing in circles.

“The Old Homestead” is a collection of random lines that create a story that is hard to follow, along with the random guitar picking. This song is experimental in its random storytelling. “And although the moon isn’t full, he still feels the pull / why do you ride that crazy horse / But up in the sky they still had his number.”

The album closer “Lost In Space” is a perfect way for this to end. This piece has a loving message. Young is yearning for the person he is singing about to be saved in a way from being lost and in a void. The production of this song is soft rock while continuing the theme of experimentation with some twists and distortion in the background, as it also contains elements of island sounds. It dives into the oceanside element of Oceanside Countryside.

Oceanside Countryside is a content album with some surprising elements, but overall, Neil Young has stuck true to who he is and his music’s identity.