Putting his own spin on this Billie Eilish cover, Ian Ward moves the song from the slower, dream-scape realms of the original and turns it into a more dynamic pop piece. If the sonic ebbs and flows of the original are subtle and subdued, Ward opts for a bigger dynamic range, one that takes it from the sophisticated yet understated into a more anthemic pop place. The lulls are lower, the highs are higher, the sonic spectrum wider.
Coming from a theatre background, a place where you are required to tell other people’s stories, but also known as a writer of his own original songs, “Ocean Eyes,” he tells us, is where those two worlds meet. “Theatre trained me to tell stories through other people’s words. My original music lets me tell my own. “Ocean Eyes feels like the bridge between the two: it’s where my Broadway theatricality meets the pop stage, and where I finally get to share my own voice.”
And that is precisely what is going on here. A familiar song, a fresh take. One that blends an almost ’80s power-balladry with something very much of the here-and-now. A song that shimmers with pop past while also setting the tone for where the genre might go next. And, based on this, a song that is both a re-imagination and a statement of intent, where pop goes next sounds like a place I am going to want to check out.
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