Finally, we are going to review one of the most awaited albums of the year: The Sea At Midnight’s homonymous album was released a few weeks ago, but till now I could not listen to it with the attention required. As I have already written about the singles released during the last months, it’s nice to see that more than half of the review is practically done. I would like to remind you that in The Sea At Midnight, we can find Vince Grant singing, Chris King from Cold Showers producing and mixing and the additional drumming programming of Brandon Pierce from Glaare.
The Sea At Midnight starts with “Medicine”, that was also the debut of the band, a track as melancholic as the name of the band and with some characteristics that we will find in the rest of the album: a charming eighties vibe and a heartfelt interpretation. The album continues the same order as the publication of the singles so next is “Melancholia”, that instrumentally reminds me both of The Cure and Joy Division, with lyrics about Vince’s past problems with drugs. Maybe it’s because of the moment I am living but the songs of The Sea At Midnight really manage to touch me, especially here when Vince deeply sings “and water flows, water flows and I am sinking”. More upbeat is “How Many Times” with a sound closer to New Order but always with a touch of sadness.
In my humble opinion, “Edge of the World” is still one of the best songs of the year, with that euphoria that was so peculiar of the music the eighties. It’s a very moving song. The album continues with “We Share The Same Stars”, that musically can remind me of New Order. A bit more electronic that the rest of the tracks, “Afterglow” is Vince Grant’s love letter to sunsets, full of the romanticism and melancholy that now are trademarks of the band.
And at the end of the album, we can find two new tracks: “Anything About You” shows again the bright and pop side of The Sea At Midnight, in a very catchy track that keeps the general quality of the album. And the album finishes in the best possible way with “Sweet Addiction”: a lot of melancholia, dreamy guitars and a perfect ending for one of the best albums of the year. For the song, a video has been created with scenes from classic The Panic At Needle Park.
