We were really looking forward to finally listen to the second album of the Californian darkwave project The Sea At Midnight. The singles we had heard so far sounded pretty good, but we wanted to see how the album as a whole would turn out. Too Close To the Sun is again another stratospheric collection of songs, in which we can see how Vince Grant’s project continues to grow as the musician manages to avoid repeating himself, adding new nuances to the music of The Sea At Midnight. For the production and mastering, Vince has counted again with Chris King as in the first album. You can listen to and buy the album at the artist’s bandcamp.
“Too close to the Sun”, the title track, is the only song that had not yet been released as a single or as part of the Oceans EP. The most striking feature of the song is the presence of a saxophone that gives it a more eighties taste, while the guitars, full of effects, bring it closer to shoegaze. And also worth mentioning, the sweet voice of Vince Grant who is once again magnificent with his peculiar way of singing. As we said at the time, “Oceans” presents us with the most hopeful, but always melancholic side of The Sea At Midnight. Vince continues singing with great feeling and the song has another great chorus to remember, enhanced by the guitars. Once again, the sea and the oceans are the inspiration for his images, in one of the best compositions of the album, which also has an instrumental part that reminds me of the most cheerful side of The Cure. “Atmosphere” both in the title and in the beginning, reminds me of the great Joy Division. It is another great, melancholic song with a magnificient instrumental part. You can tell that Vince composes with care and in this one has included a great bridge. The quality doesn’t drop with “Afraid of The Waves”, in fact, I think it’s the best song on the album, with some noisy guitars that help to reinforce the chorus. But, then comes “Miracle” and again you think it’s the best track. The powerful guitars and the atmospheric keyboards help to give it an extra feeling. The wonderful way of ending the song, with Vince’s heartfelt way of pronouncing “dawn is breaking” and the last “Miracle” is also worth mentioning. “Under the Water” with its aquatic keyboards is an example of how to make euphoric choruses. It’s one of the masterpieces of the album and also features a great solo. Too Close To the Sun continues with “I Can’t Wait”, basically a love song, with another great vocal and guitar performance by Vince. In “Indian Oceans”, the emotion of the verses is released in the burst of the chorus supported by some sharp guitars and the deep feeling shown again by Vince Grant. The album finished greatly with “Orbiting Heaven”, which was the last single, and has a truly heavenly synth melody. Undoubtedly, one of the best albums of last year.
