Album Reviews

A band once told me that you shouldn’t judge a band by its name. I guess they would say the same thing about album titles. In this case however, the title covers the load perfectly. This is indeed music for escapism. And it made me very happy when I realized I don’t have anything to escape from. Why? Because this has to be the most self-absorbed and boring album I’ve heard in quite some time.

If you’ve heard one of Seahaven’s previous releases and liked it, you might have an equally hard time adjusting to the band’s new direction. Their newfound atmospheric approach is after all quite different from what they used to do. At this point, if they were to become any more mellow, they would be catatonic.

Opener “Fifty-four” is two minutes of softly strummed guitars and vocalist Kyle Soto mumbling his way through. I figured it was a way (mind you, not the best way) to start off an album and didn’t think more of it. It seemed I was right because “Andreas” turned out to be already a slightly more rocking tune, even though it comes with a fair amount of noodling. Next up is “Silhouette (Latin Skin)” which drones on for six minutes as if the band was more occupied with the analysis of their navel fluff rather than writing a good song. From there on they just keep on going and on and on. And on. The only song that made me take notice was “Flesh” about halfway through the album. It comes with some slightly heavier guitar and serves as a wake-up call before they dive headfirst in a slumber for the remainder of the album.

I’m thinking you either love the breezy, lazy atmosphere of this album or you think of it as an exercise in self-absorption that got out of hand. And as much as I liked the band’s previous releases, I relate most to the latter.