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SEA
Sea

Mighty Music (2014)
Rating: 7/10

According to the press release, Sea is “…the new sound of classic heavy rock”. Well, I wouldn’t go as far as that, but Sea is one catchy as hell Danish rock band that are more than happy to conjure up cool, hipster riffs, bringing to mind Corrosion Of Conformity at its bluesiest while also stirring up a further cauldron of influences; from the grunge-tinted melodrama of Alice In Chains and a metallic Creedence Clearwater Revival heaped in with the likes of Rival Sons etc.

However, I’m rarely moved by such revival rock; I’m appreciative of its talent, and yet quite simply bored by the constant references to the 70s. Now, I don’t want to continue knocking bands who like to raid their dad’s record collection in search of riffs and imagery, but it’s becoming such a sickly fad that it bogs upcoming bands down to some extent. I can’t argue with the soulful yelps and moans of vocalist Anders Brink, and I’m happy to wade in the soothing guitar sound of he and Anders Kargaard, who bring in a more than ample bosom of sound as they groove their way through such sonic rolls as ‘Sorry To Be Sane’ and the burning hot ‘Cry’. However, there’s never an instant that goes by when I think to myself, “Oh, that’s new…”, because for me it’s another case of a band raiding the charity shops in order to splice together their “new sound”, which of course it most certainly is not.

If you’re a sucker for stoned and sun-blessed soul metal, then it’s likely that the smell of vintage leather, faded denim and 70s vinyl is going to envelope you to the point of orgasm. I can only say that Sea are not doing anything new, but they do have a mighty fine vocalist and a sound which balloons as the record marches on. For sheer passion and booming guitars, the aforementioned ‘Cry’ is an absolute corker of a tune, as is the raging ‘House Of Air’ and ‘Ride On’, both of which have subtle wisps of doom rock about them – although most weighty sounds from the 70s now seem to get tagged with such a lead balloon.

I get the feeling that Sea is more than happy to pay homage to their heroes and admittedly they do channel out such influences with a degree of energy and enthusiasm, but as I said previously, it’s nothing new. However, if retro is the order of the day then, as debut albums go, it’s one sure to please many. Nevertheless, there will come a time when that tasselled jacket will look silly!

Neil Arnold

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