Back from his performance break, Possible Oceans (Trevor O’Neill) releases his first single of 2021. Written before COVID screamed across the nightly news, “Blood in the Water” should have just been a Big Brother-inspired indietronica rock song. But the constant feeling of dread, references to alternative facts dividing us, and a pervading sense of darkness feel more like history than fiction.
The references to virtual brainwashing of extremist partisan politics isn’t subtle. Using found footage from the WWII-era and kaleidoscopic abstracts, Possible Oceans reconstructs a visual nightmare of A Clockwork Orange and 2020.
The dystopian pulse drills into the heart of the song with retro synths laying the opening beat. When rock guitars and distorted vocals layer on top, warning lights flare for what our future will be.
“Chasing something we can’t outrun,” Mr. O’Neill warns. An apt expression for a pandemic-stricken world. “You got a taste for it,” he repeats. Do we, or does repetition make it true? Do we want more soap opera drama in our nightly news?
The music video ends with the classic “The End” flashing up on screen. But is it the end? Or do we have a taste for this division?
Watch it below.


Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.