All We Seabees - Lady Alaska
I've mentioned before that one of the things I love about All We Seabees is how they manage to combine so many different styles into a cohesive whole. Their new CD, Lady Alaska is a perfect example of that. There's a hint of psychedelia, and a healthy dose of Irish soul. It has the narrative tradition of folk music and the spirit of indie rock. There's enough twang to keep it honest, but not enough to make it country. The album has a slightly more organic feel than their debut (Anne The Snake) did. That might be a side effect of its origins; it apparently began life intended as an acoustic-y side project, but grew into a band effort. The instrumentation is a bit more ecletic, with healthy doses of banjo, fiddle, accordian, and female harmonies. But as great as the arrangements are, the real strength of the band is the songwriting. "Black Girls" is simply one of the most gorgeous songs I've heard from the local rock scene, and "Painter" gets its impact from the juxtaposition of an utterly depressing story set to a jaunty tune. The fact that they've they've gotten this good on just their second album bodes well for their next CD, which they've already started recording.
All We Seabees - "Weepy Willow Hollow" (mp3)
All We Seabees - "Black Girls" (mp3)*
They'll be playing this Friday, April 4, at Wallstreet in Murfreesboro, along with Hammertorch and Cheyenne.
* This is a slightly different mix from the album version, but I didn't feel like burning another MP3. Yeah, I was feeling THAT lazy last night. Besides, alternate versions are fun, yo.
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