Sea Power
's 2003 debut album is a fascinating
post-punk
-inspired set that sparked artful originality and thought-provoking emotion. Their follow-up,
Open Season
, does the same but it's much more of a streamlined affair.
is virtually a 45-minute waltz of lilting string arrangements and dreamy vocals while acoustic and electric guitars chase the album's quiet golden tones. A theme of the great outdoors makes it a relaxed occasion from start to finish; the 11 songs featured aren't a schoolbook interpretation on life's hardships as much as they are a reflection on the confusion (and love) of nature. Frontman
Yan
and his brother
Hamilton
remain charming eccentrics, but this time they're poetic with their stoic, overcast outlook on modern life. The question
seems to ask throughout
is whether or not life is really crap. Commencing with the copper-toned
"It Ended on an Oily Stage,"
softly croons, "We found God in a parking lot." He ponders whether the experience was actually real, and if it has ever happened to anyone.
"How Will I Ever Find My Way Home?,"
an emotional seesaw of crunchy guitars and sheeting percussion, is oddly comfortable with the album's continuous mental inquisitions. The bird echoes of
"Please Stand Up"
match the ice-capped perils of
"Oh Larsen B,"
maintaining the album's rich affections. Some might think that the five Cumbrian intellectuals have made their shining
pop
moment with this record despite
making it quite obvious on
The Decline of...
that they're anything but a
band.
's smart approach on
showcases a band in progress. This album feels alive and breathes honesty. Such an impression once again makes way for
to stand apart from their counterparts (
Doves
,
Coldplay
South
). ~ MacKenzie Wilson