Being As An Ocean (BAAO) is a band from Alpine, California who have only been together since 2011 and have made a huge impact in the Post Hardcore/Melodic Hardcore scene. Releasing their first full length album "Dear G-d" on October 22nd, 2012 they showed the music industry what their capable of. After listening to this album I can say with a 100% certainty that this is one piece of art that is filled to the breaking point with heart.
My first impression after listening to the album was that I had to listen to it again. I was falling in love with it, even though I hadn’t had a full grasp on the words yet, the melodies that they preform so well instrumentally will catch your ear in such a way that you’ll be straining to hear what comes next.
In this album the band is trying to send out a message to everyone, regardless of who you are. In the very first track they tell us that clearly enough while also expressing the fear that what they have to say might not help at all. “The words might mean nothing/but it’s a chance I’m willing to take/cause maybe I’m wrong and lives can change…” (Track 1: Nothing, Save the Power They’re Given). They want us to know that they’ve been through it; they still are going through it! But that they believe they can help others to get through their hardships with the knowledge they have gained from these experiences.
  In the following track, “Dear G-d” (Track 2), they start to ease in their message of God and His Love. They express how they have learned to forgive people of the wrongs they committed against them, how they’re trying to be better people as God intended them to be. They tell everyone that they’re writing to remind everyone that there is always hope and love and living. “…I write these things to remind myself/that amidst this darkness, there still remains/light, Hope, and a perfect plan/….”
  Even if you are not a believer in God like myself or your religion differs, you can appreciate the raw emotion that pours out of these words, these melodies. It is inspiring regardless of what it is that they found something to lead them, to pull them through everything they needed it too. That found a way to have hope, they are telling us that hope is always there; it’s the light in the dark.
Two tracks stood out to me the most and still do after listening to the album various times; “This Loneliness Won’t be the Death of Me” (Tack 4) & “If They’re Not Counted, Count Me Out” (Track 11). These two songs tugged and pulled at my heart strings from start to finish.
"This Loneliness Won't be the Death of Me" is probably my favorite song by the band hands down, right away it pulls you in with its soft melodies that begin and end the song. It sounds so soft, so fragile and loving and then goes so much deeper, introducing a feeling that we've all felt before. "...I still feel so alone/even when I'm surrounded by my friends/....After such tremendous abuse/cause I’ve worked this ground since my youth/and still, the land has yet to bare any sort of fruit..." We all know what it's like to not feel like your good enough and no matter how much you do, you're not getting anything in return or to feel alone no matter who's around.
"If They're Not Counted, Count Me Out" is my second favorite track off of this album for a more personal matter that voices some of my own concerns. They talk about how though he may have been given God's grace, his loved ones have not and if they aren't there with him in the end, that he should just be sent down there with them. He discusses how he has seen good and light in everyone no matter who they are. "...I’ve seen hospitality in the homeless/I’ve seen Light in the darkness/and I’ve seen hope in the damned/...." He questions how God as the creator of all, could sit by and watch his children suffer? ".../A Father doesn’t sit idly by while His children are maimed/..." I believe that this track really hits home for a lot of people, it is very relatable; a question that I'm sure many people have asked before.
This album is amazing in not only that it is pleasing to the ears with its melodies but original with its lyrics. Listening to this album multiple times now (each time finding one more reason to fall in love with it all over again) I would recommend it to anyone regardless of age, religion, and even those who dislike the genre itself. The message that BAAO is sending out is one worth listening too. Everyone should know that even in the darkest times there are people who know how you feel, who have the same questions, the same concerns, and have found an answer.