Following on from the acclaimed Grass Stains and Novocaine, San Francisco-based band Seablite are back with a new EP. Having raved about the band's debut album, and ranked it in my Top 20 Albums of 2019 list, I'm happy to report that this new EP, out on Emotional Response on Friday in the USA, shimmers and sways with the same sense of how to bring indie-pop into sharp focus.
If opener "High-Rise Mannequins" is one of the best tracks this band have done to date, all early Velocity Girl mixed up with a dash of Heavenly, "Skipping Stones" is just as interesting, if more melancholic. This one, and "Pretend", recall Split-era Lush a lot, but then again, so did lots on Grass Stains and Novocaine. I think the key with the appeal of Seablite is how they manage to take their obvious inspiration points and go in new directions with them. "Skeleton Couch" here, for example, is rough but lovely all at once, but fully-formed and precise. Seablite never seem to be getting lost in their brand of shoegaze, and each release, like this new EP, indicates a further refinement of their approach.
The new Seablite EP will be out on Emotional Response on Friday in the USA.
More details on Seablite via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Michael Aguilar]