Seekonk - For Barbara Lee
(Kimchee)
A common experience: You burn out. New music comes out all the frickin' time. New bands show up, old bands put out new records. So much music comes out all the time that any music fan who's happened upon certain p2p networks quickly becomes so saturated with things they've always meant to hear that it becomes very hard to keep track of new bands who aren't a split off of so-and-so's project or who sound like them or are capitalizing on current hipster fad 89c. So yes, you burn out. But then every once in a while a nice little surprise of a record pops up and smacks your stupid-ass head around to let you know that there are people you've never heard of who are in fact making great records and you owe it to yourself to check these records out. See what I'm getting at? Seekonk. Please pardon the name.
Hailing from Portland, ME, Seekonk are only about two years old but damnit if this record doesn't sound like the work of a band far older. Though their sound is chiefly comprised of crisp clean guitars and whispered vocals that ring of any number of bands, Seekonk manage to write original songs that are enriched by just the right amount of well arranged experimentalism. Through their songs you'll hear of horns, strings, field recordings and even the classic Casio SK-1 human voice sample, but all of these flourishes are never more than well suited texture to already good songs. They make the music better without becoming the point of the music themselves and without falling back to the realm of novelty. Singer Shana Barry manages to fit right into each song with her hushed vocals, and her lyrics paint a deeper picture than many of her peer's. The recording itself is incredibly warm and makes you feel like you're sitting in a nice little space with a few couches and a good soundguy- the perfect venue to witness a surprising new band.
One thing I feel I have to mention: I've tried to keep comparisons to other bands out of this review, but I have to say that in a lot of ways Seekonk remind me of early 90's Matador sleepers 18th Dye. "Swim Again" bears more than a striking resemblance to 18th Dye's "Poolhouse Blue" and while it may be purely coincidental, it zeros in on just the same kind of lonely but beautiful vibe that song conjures.
For Barbara Lee is a surprisingly great album from a band that is just starting out. Any fan of melodic, intelligent indie rock will be doing themselves a disservice by not picking it up. My only fear is that their proximity to Cerberus Shoal is causing them to hemorrhage members in a way that may be detrimental to their continued existence. If I'm seeing things right, they've already lost Barry and are on singer #3. Not a good sign. Nevertheless, a band with this much potential should not be ignored.
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