Great new music
alexliamw | Oxford | 07/16/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The first thing that you hear on this CD is a 40-second Gregorian Chant entitled "Men Together Today". From this, its safe to say British Sea Power are an eccentric band. But eccentric is a word to be scared of in music recently, with bands like The Coral being "quirky" and "mad" for the sake of it and forgetting to make good music. British Sea Power tread the line between irritating and unspeakably cool - landing, fortunately, on the right side, even on tracks like the ramshackle, insistent "Apologies to Insect Life" which is a bit of a mess in an endearing way. But its not all like that: "Something Wicked" is glorious stately pop, and doomy, beautiful songs like "Fear of Drowning" and "The Lonely" evoke Joy Division and This Is My Truth-era Manics. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the glammed-up fuzz of "Remember Me" and "Carrion" recalls peak-period Bowie. Despite these many influences, only "Blackout" is anything less than consistently inventive. But at 14 minutes "Lately" is the album's stunner, a song for which the word epic seems too conventional."
Five disgustingly talented youngsters
matthew reinholds | auckland New Zealand | 07/01/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A Bowie like vocal lamenting culture as commodity through a dense layer of static and feedback. Taking the likes of Morrissey, Suede and Joy Division - BSP have condensed the afore mentioned bands into a hybrid which is truely unique.
Remember me, Carrion and blackout are the obvious highlights due to the immediacy of their melody, but with every listen more twists and turns are hidden like a nervous stage actress hiding in the darkened corners waiting for her queue, waiting to be discovered. These are definitley five disgustingly talented youngsters who in the best tradition of British indie bands demand your attention."
The most dynamic new interesting album of 2003!
William Bird | Brooklyn, NY | 07/22/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"British Sea Power are without a doubt the most interesting dynamic young band to come out in 2003. There is not a bad song on this album. The songs range from manic Pixies-ish pop to softer Belle and Sebastion ballads. But BSP know the meaning of dynamics and they put out some powerful rock. It may not be for the neogarage-rock fan of today but this is what Brit-pop should be! Buy it NOW!"