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The
Sea Navy
12.18.07
Upon hearing the first thirty seconds or so of the latest
from the boys in The Sea Navy, titled "Oh These Troubled
Times", I began to worry I had gotten myself into another
album filled with the stereotypical northwest indie-rock
sound, and wasn't really sure how I felt about it at all.
Luckily for me, I was pleasantly surprised shortly thereafter,
as their sound began to evolve not only song to song, but
inside each individual track as well. Their sound ranges
everywhere from mellowed out soft acoustic indie to more
upbeat guitar driven rock, almost reminiscent of Against
Me. They seem to find a way to make a simple three man indie
group feel like a much deeper and more complex full sound.
Lyrically they seem to break from the mold (or at least
what I expected of them) as well, which was certainly a
nice little surprise. In fact, if I had to categorize "Oh
These Troubled Times" in one short phrase, that's the
exact wording I'd use: "a nice little surprise".
Songs like "Super Power Syndrome" are a perfect
example of the band's ability to shift through and blend
various genres as they push their way through a variety
of stories and perceptions of the world and the people in
it. The song starts off with a guitar/drum combination straight
out of Gainesville. Just when I thought I had a grasp on
the style of the song, the chorus hit, and I found myself
bopping along to some keyboards that sounded like they were
straight out of the late seventies, completely confused,
but entirely content at the same time. The song "Avenue
A" (which, coincidentally, is also by far my favorite
on the album) begins with the same sort of Against Me-esque
guitars, but stays on the mellower side, taking listeners
through a story in the most melodic and well organized campfire
style song I've ever heard. Part of what makes their songs
so easy to listen to and follow along (aside from the aforementioned
melodic nature and mellow, simplistic structure) is their
ability to create a sense within the listener (or within
myself at least) that they can relate to the lyrics. I'm
not talking about relating to lyrics in a sense of understanding
more simplistic emotions, but on a much broader, yet deeper
level, of the journey through life and all the ups and downs
in between.
Musically, it's hard to categorize this piece of collective
work as anything in particular without lumping them into
a more generalizing category such as "indie rock"
but don't let the label fool you. Their ability to take
simple songs and melodies and make them seem timeless and
free of the boundaries of any typical indie band. Vocally
sometimes I wasn't really sure what to make of certain songs,
but as a whole I was pretty content with the sound and it
certainly added more than it detracted from the overall
sound of any given song. However, it seems that Jay Cox
(vocals) doesn't really use his voice to its full potential,
as I feel like I can hear a lot of hidden power and grit
hidden underneath there. In total though, I was incredibly
impressed with the the overall effort an sound in "Oh
These Troubled Times" and look forward to hearing more
from the Seattle boys, The Sea Navy.
Songs to keep an ear on: "Super Power Syndrome",
"Avenue A", and "Divorced, Beheaded, Died,
Divorced, Beheaded, Survived".
Reviewed by: Brian Anderson
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