Parhelia excelled with their last EP, which conjured up the times when Mogwai used to sound ground-breaking. 'Oceans Apart' follows a similar course of occasionally quiet but predominately loud guitars always on the lookout for - and frequently finding - a dramatic and worthwhile key change.
'Lights In The Distance' sets the stall out with an opening barrage of stormy guitars. After that the axemen cut back on the aggression; the title track's underlying melody could even be described as pretty until 'Storm Warning' has the final say with a harsh but not overblown riff that borders on heavy metal. The only criticism is that there's not much sign of development from the last EP but whilst Parhelia still try to incorporate every trick within this limited field, they may as well proceed with their mission.