North Atlantic Drift is the sixth studio album by British rock band Ocean Colour Scene and the last to feature founding member and bassist Damon Minchella.

Background

Martin 'Max' Hayes and the band co-produced every song, except for "For Every Corner", which was produced solely by the former. They were assisted by Tim Roe (who also did additional engineering on "When Evil Comes"), Darren, Nash, Darren Blackwell, and Tom Webster. Hayes and Pete Craigie mixed the recordings. Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Will You Take Her Love" and "Me, I'm Left Unsure", and the second with "Questions" and "I Want to See the Bright Lights".

The US version was released on 19 August 2003, and contained four bonus tracks: "Will You Take Her Love", "Me, I'm Left Unsure", "Questions", and "I Want to See the Bright Lights". "Make the Deal" was released as a single on 25 August 2003. Two versions were released on CD: the first with "Perfect Stranger" and "I Never Believed It Too", while the other included "We Rise" and "St. Cecelia". The 7" vinyl version featured a Caged Baby remix of "I Just Need Myself" as the B-side.

Bassist Damon Minchella left the band in late 2003. "Golden Gate Bridge" was released as a single on 29 December 2003. The CD version featured live versions of "Get Away" and "The Riverboat Song", while the DVD version included videos of live versions of "Golden Gate Bridge", "Second Hand Car", and "The Day We Caught the Train".

Reception

North Atlantic Drift was met with mixed-to-negative reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "only the faithful would care [about a new album from Ocean Colour Scene], which is too bad, because it's the best record they've done in a long time." He said that while there was not any "great progression in the sound", the production "isn't nearly as claustrophobic as it was on its predecessor".

Ocean Colour Scene

  • Simon Fowler – lead vocals, Nashville guitar, acoustic guitar
  • Steve Cradock – electric guitar, Nashville guitar, acoustic guitar, EBow, Hammond organ, piano, percussion, autoharp
  • Damon Minchella – bass
  • Oscar Harrison – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional musicians

  • Sonia Slany – strings arrangement <small>(track 5 and 9)</small>
  • Duncan Mackay – trumpet <small>(track 7)</small>
  • James Hunt – saxophone <small>(track 7)</small>
  • Nichol Tompson – trombone <small>(track 7)</small>
  • Steve White – percussion <small>(track 1)</small>
  • Kevin 'Ewok' Rowe – 2nd guitar <small>(track 2)</small>
  • Linda Thompson – vocals <small>(track 9)</small>
  • Dalbir Singh Rattan – tabla <small>(track 11)</small>

Production and design

  • Martin 'Max' Hayes – producer, mixing
  • Ocean Colour Scene – producer <small>(all except track 6)</small>
  • Pete Craigie – mixing
  • Tom Roe – additional engineering <small>(track 11)</small>, assistant
  • Darren Nash – assistant
  • Darren Blackwell – assistant
  • Tom Webster – assistant
  • Ian – sleeve design
  • Lawrence Watson – photography

References