Sound clips
Four low-resolution MP3 previews — “Time”, “Mad World”, “Disturbed” and “I've Been Losing You” — played straight from this site, plus notes on the two songs with no surviving file.
Everything recorded by Ockham's Razor in one place: the sound the band was built around, the debut album and its limited edition single, the printed track listing and the previews you can play right now.
Ockham's Razor is a darkwave, synth-pop and ethereal music band from Los Angeles, California. The band describes its own aim as “a perfect marriage between the hard-hitting sounds of the latest electronic technologies and the smooth and elegant tones of live acoustic instruments” — and that phrase is the clearest description of the record.
In practice, sequenced electronics and synthesizer parts sit under live guitars, pianos and acoustic instruments, with lead vocals carrying the melody. Jeremy Wheeler's keyboards and pianos supply the electronic layer; Belinda Bach's guitars and Sheldon “Lurch” Morley's guitar and bass keep the live, played texture on top; Jonathan “Stickman” Bach's drums and backing vocals hold it together; Patrick J. McMahon's classically trained voice leads.
The lyrics follow the same idea of contrast: haunting, true-to-life stories delivered over hooks that stay with you. The result sits between gothic rock and synth-pop rather than firmly inside either camp.
Two releases carry the Ockham's Razor catalogue: the debut album on Midnight Magic Records and the limited edition mini-disc single taken from it. Both are listed below with catalogue number, format, price and notes.
| Catalogue number | Format | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMR200301 | CD album | $10.00 | “Ockham's Razor”, the debut album. Shipping included. |
| MMR200301-1 | Signed CD album | $15.00 | The debut album signed by all four signing band members. Shipping included. |
| MMR200302 | Limited edition mini-disc single | $10.00 | “Disturbed”. Individually numbered, only 100 copies. Shipping included. |
Two further recordings survive in the site archive without appearing on the album: “Angel” and “Did Anyone”. Neither has a preview file published here, and neither is part of the printed album running order. They are noted so that anyone cataloguing the band's material knows they exist.
“Chasms” and “Far Away” are printed on the album sleeve but have no surviving preview file; four of the six album songs — “Time”, “Disturbed”, “Mad World” and “I've Been Losing You” — can be played now on the sound clips page.
Five pages cover the recording from every angle: the clips, the printed listing, the artwork, the merchandise and the order form.
Four low-resolution MP3 previews — “Time”, “Mad World”, “Disturbed” and “I've Been Losing You” — played straight from this site, plus notes on the two songs with no surviving file.
The six songs in the order printed on the back of the sleeve, reproduced beside a scan of that printed listing.
The front sleeve and the CD tray card of the debut album, shown at full size.
The black Ockham's Razor shirt, catalogue number MMR200304, $15.00 plus shipping and handling, in sizes L, XL and XXL.
The debut album at $10.00 with shipping included, the signed edition at $15.00, and the numbered “Disturbed” mini-disc single at $10.00.
How five performers with classical voice, musical theatre, marching percussion and studio backgrounds built this sound together.