British Sea Power - Open Season (2005) - Review

British Sea Power - Open Season - (2005) - Cover

Victorian Values (3/5)

To my mind the band's name conjures Victorian iron ships and ripping yarns. Amazingly they carry that sense through into their music, with references to the Greek mythology and Victorian explorers. That's not to say they pay heed to Victorian musical styles - their sounds can be tagged to a number of modern artists such as Pavement and The Pixies.

Their first album was an interesting mix of spiky pop and big blustery guitar epics, tainted with the odd whiff of stiff upper lip reserve and random word play. This second album builds on the winning formula of the first - proving a heady brew of ballading mid-pace burners, epic atmospheric strollers and sharp angry snappers - ofttimes in the space of one twisting and surprising track.

Of the latter style the stand-out track is How Will I Ever Find My Way Home? - sung by another band-member other than the usual softly sung main vocal, you find yourself shaking your head wondering how they got such a youthful Frank Black sounding voice. It works to perfection, buoyed up by some angular feedback and enough drive to power a dreadnought.

There's a touch of melancholic darkness at the heart of many of the tracks as the normal soft-spoken vocal plays with words just for the hell of it - whilst the accomplished songs twist and build then evaporate into atmospherics and unexpected soundscapes. The production is crisp and inventive with some stirring moments of big drum mayhem and shimmering beauty.

There's enough interesting stuff here to keep the album engaging and entertaining in the short term - but at times there is a lot of stuff in there you've heard a plenty elsewhere.

This is not to knock the band, as given the current indiepop quagmire furrowed by *please go away* forgettables such as Snow Patrol, Keane or (Shudder) Coldplay - they have more than enough of interest to snare your typical dour muso. They also show a lot more integrity and industrious artifice to lift them out of the usual. Not essential by any means - but its certainly worth the time.

David Lloyd © 2005 - Originally written for DioBach.com

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