The Silver Seas – High Society

The Silver Seas – High Society / 2005 Cheap Lullaby / 11 Tracks / http://www.beesmusic.com /

Two years of distance between when this album came out and when it was originally recorded does not even put a minute layer of dust on the compositions that The Silver Seas (formerly The Bees) put together on their “High Society”. Daniel, Jason, John, and David are able to craft a style that is first present during “The Country Life” and continues all the way through the ending of the disc’s final track, “The Broadway Lights”. “The Country Life” has a Ben Folds meets Billy Joel type of approach to rock music.

The vocals present this track will immediately insinuate themselves in listeners’ hearts, while the clap track present will give the track the body that is needed to push it up the alt-charts. The band has succeeded beyond their wildest dreams during “The Country Life”, but “High Society” attempts to upstage it by allowing the guitars to take center stage. When the vocals finally kick in, a Moody Blues meets shoegazer style is what comes forth. The band speeds things up slightly for the chorus, but a trippy, seventies sound causes the band to meander. “Ms. November” is one of the shortest tracks on the disc, and has a retro sound in much the same way that the Lemonheads had a retro sound when they covered “Ms. Robinson” for the Wayne’s World 2 soundtrack. Throw in a little R.E.M. (“Automatic For The People”-era), and The Silver Seas are able to have another solid track right out of the gate. “Imaginary Girl” is the clean-up track, and it shows that The Silver Seas can take on a band as storied as The Beatles as a major influence.

The scale-structured instrumentation during that track further solidifies this comparison, while the chorus represents another catchy bit of vocals that will stay with listeners well after the track (and even the disc) has ended. The Silver Seas’ “High Society” last for only a smidge over a half hour, but the replay value of the album is high. While the arrangements sound simple outwardly, repeated listening will expose different nuances and special things that The Silver Seas have added for the serious fan. The disc is a few years old, as has been said, so here’s to hoping that The Silver Seas are nearing completion on an album that stays true to the spirit of “High Society” but takes a few nice twists and turns.

Top Tracks: Dream of Love, Ms. November

Rating: 7.2/10