In the summer of 2025, producer Charlie Nieland released ‘The Ocean Understands’, a four track EP that took him from the realms of the technical aspects of a behind the scenes role and into the performing spotlight. Mixing elements of dark pop, melodic rock, goth and shoegaze, the material took on a grand scope, and despite often sharing a moody edge, managed to remain very accessible. That’s more than can be said for this album’s opening number.

‘Cease To Turn’ isn’t shy in promoting the performer’s often cinematic style, since it opens with a strange drone and funereal drumming, but contrasts the impending doom with a light sounding percussive element that evokes the sound of sleigh bells. The juxtaposition of moods is immediately striking, as is the bright sounding guitar tone occasionally creeping in, even though it merely recalls the previous EP’s gothic interests, musically speaking. After a very strong start, the track has a major wobble, unfortunately, when Charlie starts to sing. Understanding that this interesting arrangement deserves a striking vocal, he adopts a weird croon. It’s not especially melodic; it’s also rather unsettling and very hard to listen to. This might work better if it were just a lead into something with a bit of punch, but the track meanders ominously across four minutes, with the only discernable change being an increase in distortion. In fairness, the vocal starts to sound a little more natural after a time, but in terms of first impressions here, Nieland is clearly out to frighten off the less patient members of his potential audience.

A vast improvement, ‘Brutalist Monuments’ is a superb number where an almost funky bass takes centre stage, and against its stop-start riff, Charlie adopts a quirky sing-speak tone that occasionally sounds like Jeremy Toback exploring some art rock interests. Once the guitars kick in, the arrangement straddles the 80s post punk sounds of the likes of Gang of Four and a chunky 90s inspired guitar riff, creating something that’s both spiky and oddly melodic. With the vocal taking a lighter approach and floating very naturally above the rather pointed musical arrangement, this quickly becomes a classic example of Nieland’s complex style, even before a world of wordless harmony vocals aim to give the track a really hooky climax. Just as strong, but in a completely different style, the piano intro of ‘Win’ immediately sounds like a tribute to the much missed, multi talented Shaun Smith, before branching out into a piece of very accessible melodic rock that places as much focus on the drums and guitars as a great vocal. That vocal is a little understated, especially considering the style of the track, but hitting the chorus Nieland begins to sound strong against a steady groove, peppered with ringing guitars that call back to great indie sounds from the 90s. If anything sticks here, though, it’s Nieland’s decision to deliver a couple of the verses in a stripped down manner. Shorn of guitars, one is powered by bass and vocal; the other by a vocal and solid drum part, and both are quite striking in themselves, but each also allow the guitar work to sound even stronger when returning for a huge soaring solo. A busy rap (courtesy of a guesting spiritchild) is likely to split opinion, but this is an immediate stand out track on a pleasingly varied record.

Another highlight, ‘Drown’ slowly builds a superb atmosphere throughout a long and sprawling five minutes. A wall of distortion quickly branches out into an even bigger sounding swirl of guitars that borrow from drone and heavy shoegaze in equal measure, and the addition of a slow beat increases the tension and lends the minimalist arrangement more of a structure, over which Nieland delivers a particularly moody vocal. His chosen tone doesn’t seem to have any real commercial interests either, but the way it works in tandem with the huge guitar sound creates something great. Eventually dropping into far more of a psychedelic drenched riff – complete with phased effects and a second guitar adding bright, ringing tones – a definite melody is slowly born, and for those who’ve found a love for the dense sound prior to this point, this will signify a track that moves from arty but interesting into something that’s potentially a touch more accessible without being too commercial. It won’t be for everyone, of course, but in terms of whipping up some excitement via some very retro alternative sounds, Nieland certainly achieves his chosen goal.

Offering something of an even mellower persuasion, the mid tempo, waltzing melody that sits at the heart of ‘Back To Life’ occasionally echoes a couple of David Gilmour’s solo performances, but its desire to never rush means it never really gets anywhere. That said, it’s dreamlike sound will certainly click with a few of the proggier minded listeners over time, and what this lacks in immediacy is made up for with some fine lead guitar work that comes drenched in effects. Although it isn’t immediately obvious, ‘Redshift’, with its heavily strummed guitars, also offers something with a Floydian heart, even though the first part of the track shares something much closer to a mix of dark indie and janglepop. It’s a number that starts well, but gets better once Nieland takes his very gentle sound and layers it with keys and other atmospherics to give the melody a prog-ish texture. After a little settling in, the track captures a mood that couldn’t be further from the previous shoegaze influences of ‘Drown’ if it tried. Ensuring the proggy lilt isn’t lost on anyone, this track also boasts a rather cheeky middle eight where Nieland abandons his main melody to break into something that’s dangerously close to Pink Floyd’s classic ‘Breathe’, and an influence that was once subtle becomes glaringly obvious. As knowing as it may be, this musical twist takes this track from the realms of good to great. It was one of the previous EP’s highlights, but it’s strong enough to hold its own as a highlight of this long player too.

Sticking out somewhat, ‘Shame’ takes a rockier turn when Charlie takes the guts of a college rock rhythm and huge jangle setting something very 80s in place, and contrasts it with a near spoken, very 70s vocal. There are moments where that voice is clearly inspired by ‘Transformer’ era Lou Reed, and others where broader melodies hint at a love for the decade’s post-glam/proto punk, and the by the time louder creep in to create a superb climax, the track ends up somewhere very different than expected. The louder elements of the number are definitely early Roxy/’Warm Jets’ Eno derived, but that only adds to the coolness here. Revisiting the kind of sing-speak vocal that takes time to warm up, ‘Today’ shares a stripped back sound where Neiland’s voice takes centre stage, but if you’re able to hear past that, a blanket of keys weaves a great, almost ambient sound, whilst intermittent bass adds warmth. Listeners shouldn’t expect much beyond that, though, since this is clearly designed as a palate cleanser after the busy ‘Shame’, providing a more comfortable lead into ‘You Fell Down’ with its minimalist guitar and vocal intro. Although this initially suggests something else from the dream pop sphere (a 90s subgenre of indie/alternative sounds that had a massive resurgence in 2025, in the lead up to this album’s release), the arrival of a full band hits upon a mid tempo groove, and the mix of loud but simple drumming and heavily treated guitar lines helps to explore a great melody with a neo-psych heart. In terms of melody, ‘Stories From The Borderlines’ features a few stronger and more immediate tracks, but in terms of setting up an atmospheric sound – and a melodic structure that’s far more sympathetic to Charlie’s sometimes limited vocal abilities – this is absolutely perfect. With a stately feel joined by an otherworldly tone, it’s the perfect combination of Charlie’s many influences.

Elsewhere, you’ll find ‘Sentinel’, a number that mightn’t necessarily stand out among some of this record’s stronger offerings, but it still provides a solid showcase for Nieland’s more atmospheric music interests. The quiet guitar tones blend influences from early Smashing Pumpkins and early 90s dream pop; the subtle drumming adds something even more downbeat to a mournful melody, and Nieland’s natural vocals bring a very low key melody to the fore. It’s more of a slowburn than some of this album’s songs, but for those who’ve found a way into the musical world Charlie inhabits, a love for this tune is likely to be found over time.

From a particularly unnerving and slightly disappointing start, ‘Stories From The Borderlines’ grows into an impressive work, with Nieland’s blending of genres makes good on the promise of his earlier EP. The fact that he uses three of those EP tracks here to give the album a very strong core allows for some easy continuity, but it’s really pleasing to discover the album itself actually features a few even better numbers. This is worth picking up for ‘Drown’, ‘Win’, ‘Redshift’ and ‘You Fell Down’, but there’s also a feeling that a couple of the “lesser” cuts will present their greatness over time. Listeners who like things with a retro alternative feel may find this sometimes moody and often arty album will have a strong appeal – especially those who don’t always expect instant gratification.

September/November 2025