Mal De Mer is the latest album from New York’s The Morning Sea, with an eponymous track that is tremendously emotive and effecting. Taking up hints of alternative and indie, The Morning Sea to establish something that is instrumentally and vocally compelling. The meandering tack taken during this introduction will have listeners on the edges of their seats Don’t Be Moronic, Merriam speeds things up and adds hints of ska and desert rock. The quicker tempo of this track includes ropy bass line, broad guitar rocks, and a darkly catchy set of lyrics. The band is able to make a track that works well to dance to while having enough of an intelligence weaved through the arrangements that even the most jaded music fan can appreciate.
Lonely Hearts in the Cosmos allows the vocals to take a focal point while the lush backdrop that the instruments establish provides proper highlighting in all of the right places. The guitars that resound during the opening of Backburner Baby immediately elicit comparisons to Muse and Queens of the Stone Age.
Mal De Mer closes with The Cold & The Quiet, a slower and more somber effort that will tattoo its melodies deep into the minds and hearts of anyone listening in. The track builds upon a classic Americana sort of sound to make something that twinkles beautiful in the darkness. By allowing the vocals to have such a strong position in this track, the band is able to include longer instrumental interludes. This chiaroscuro ends the disc as emphatically as it has been; hints of David Bowie are scattered throughout this concluding track.
Top Tracks: Don’t Be Moronic, Merriam, Lonely Hearts in the Cosmos
Rating: 8.4/10
The Morning Sea – Mal De Mer CD Review / 2016 Self / 7 Tracks / https://www.facebook.com/themorningsea/ / http://www.themorningsea.com/