Some By Sea

On Fire! (Igloo)

(SideCho)

Record Review by Daniel Brody

Being in a chamber pop band must be exhausting.  You can't just have normal rock instrumentation; at the very least some strings and pianos need to express the dainty emotions those proletarian guitars just can't reach.  Some kind of education is in order so that the lyrics are suitably arch and literate.  Then there's the length of the songs, which have to average at least five minutes in length so that they have the epic scope of a seafaring pirate adventure.  Thanks to the internet, it's easier than ever for Chamber Pop bands to find an audience full of English majors eager to hear music that reflects their pretension and high art aspirations.  Some By Sea is guilty of all the above transgressions, and while On Fire! (igloo) is very pretty, it is also a bit of a snore, like a book by Thomas Hardy or somebody else with Cliffs Notes.

The first problem is in the ornate instrumentation itself.  There are all sorts of cluttery instruments present: banjo, cello, pianos, and all kinds of percussion creating a sort of audio pizza with too many toppings on it.  When a song like "Darling, Here's the Best Part," attempts a soaring orchestral breakdown, it sounds shapeless, as if the extra instruments are there for the sake of being there.  Rachel Bowman's cello strewn about the disc sounds like an afterthought, unnecessary to the function of the songs.

Another problem is lead singer Chris Du Bray's voice.  He maintains a single tone throughout the album, a sort of disillusioned bray which complains about this or that emotional injustice.  For an album whose sound clearly aims for an elegant troubadour vibe, Du Bray's voice brings the whole proceeding to a very contemporary and whiny screeching halt.

On Fire! (Igloo) deserves some credit for aiming at the stars; the songs are not tossed off.  But a lot of the orchestral arrangements and musical flourishes clash with one another until a bland cacophonous muddle reigns over the whole affair.  Some By Sea seem overwhelmed by the poetic sensibilities needed to make a wide-ranging chamber pop album work.  Fans of The Decemberists, a band Some By Sea are bound to be compared to in their reach, will be most likely be disappointed by their grasp.