The last time most people heard the name Seachange, the band had just signed with Matador and released 2004's moody Lay of the Land. Much has changed in two years, as their latest offering On Fire, With Love is being sold through their own A is for Artist label, not yet having received a worldwide release. Luckily for fans of the British sextet, their anthemic sound has not changed significantly during this transition. While it is true that they have refined their production to sound as if they could have jumped to a major label, the same thankfully cannot be said of their songwriting. Seachange instead has undoubtedly benefited from the indie success of similar acts like British Sea Power, which has since encouraged increased production skills while still being able to maintain total control of artistic direction.
After fortunately scrapping the original notion of recording a double album, Seachange dedicated their energy toward making a concise rock record. Although On Fire, With Love is a very energetic album, it does not have the same lo-fi grittiness of their debut - for better or worse. The powerful presence of violinist Jo Woodnutt that characterized much of Lay of the Land is now missing, having been replaced by producer/multi-instrumentalist Neil Wells. In fact, only a few songs such as the gloomy "Anti-Story" or "Midsummer Fires" feel as if they could even be considered 'moody' at all. However, this has been replaced by much more ambitious instrumentation, partially credited to fellow Nottingham band Sweetbriar. Vocalist Dan Eastop is still characterized by his thick British accent - even to the point of referencing the American reaction to accents in his lyrics, "With the yanks falling at your feet, they love the way you speak, internationally, intentionally cute." His delivery is noticeably more relaxed than it was on Lay of the Land. Yet, considering that the band spent twelve months touring "intense music at an intense pace," it is expected that the natural progression of their writing would be to mellow. This is not to say that the album is relaxed - several tracks shoot by at a recognizably intense pace, such as the gritty "No Backwards Glances." The incredible groove found in the dissonant intro and powerful hook to "Battleground" is unmatched anywhere else on the album, with most of the extreme energy coming directly from the group's dominant guitars. Eastop's run-off-the-mouth style of singing proves that he isn't too concerned with writing sing-a-longs for the audience, with this style being able to provide some of the album's highlights on "The Key" and "In." Certainly a progression in the songwriting of Seachange, On Fire, With Love is a testament to the ability of independent artists to write anthemic songs from a perspective outside of major labels.
