After Iceland's
Seabear
released their second album,
We Built a Fire
, in 2010, bandleader
Sindri Mar Sigfusson
switched focus to his solo project,
Sin Fang
. Meanwhile, other members, including
Soley Stefansdottir
-- better known as
Soley
-- likewise pursued solo careers, work with other bands, or other artistic endeavors (several of them are visual artists as well as musicians). With touring and other activities on hold due to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, all seven members found the time to reunite
for
In Another Life
, their first album in 12 years. Setting aside the more indie electronic-minded tendencies of
and soft-spoken experimental pop of
, it represents a wholehearted return to the often intricately textured blend of folk-rock and orchestrated indie pop the project had been known for. Opener "Parade" begins with overlapping finger-style guitar lines before launching into a breezy, softly shimmering reflection on mortality and music that layers piano, keys, acoustic guitars, strings, airy backing vocals, and
Sigfusson
's equally gossamer lead over a sauntering rhythm section. They pick up the tempo and plug in guitars on "Running into a Wall," which nonetheless opens on flute and weaves fiddle into its dream pop-adjacent arrangements. Horns comes into play on tracks including the twangy "Waterphone" and "Make It All Up," which applies the band's soundscapes to a late-'60s psychedelic pop. Tracks including "I Can Always Tell" take a more rustic approach (banjo, pedal steel) while still incorporating atmospheric synth sparkle. Warmly catchy throughout,
closes on the galloping folk-rock jam "Oslo," which revisits the idea of legacies formed through relationships and music. On the whole, the unexpected third album shows a solid return to form for
, despite the long recording hiatus. ~ Marcy Donelson