More about: Sea Power

Everything Was Forever is Sea Power's first album in five years—and the first since the name change, which saw the band drop ‘British’ from their moniker. Almost two decades on from their debut, however, what do we get with Everything Was Forever? 

At first listen, it’s a mixed bag. Baroque pop and stadium-esque indie intertwine in a style we’ve become accustomed to from Sea Power, and for the most part it tends to work. True to form, the tracks here are on the longer side—just one clocks in at under four minutes while almost half are five minutes or longer. ‘Green Goddess’, at three-minutes-nineteen, is enjoyable with an uplifting radio-friendly sound, though isn’t distinctively ‘Sea Power’; it could have come from any of a number of Brit alt-rock bands of the same ilk. 

But when they hit, they hit. ‘Two Fingers’, one of four tracks previously released as singles, stands out with a James-but-post-punk feel, but at almost six-minutes long could probably have been shortened slightly. That said, the atmospheric, almost eerie outro flows beautifully into ‘Fire Escape Into The Sea’, an altogether more mellow track that’s full of gentle guitar, but again is slightly too long. 

Opener ‘Scaring at the Sky’ is a solid way to kick off the album (if a little of a slow burn) with four-and-half minutes of graceful dream-pop being a pleasant introduction. While it never truly gets going, it goes a long way to setting the mood of the record. The post-Britpop of ‘Transmitter’ has more oomph: the lyrics “​​What have you/What have you/What have you done my dear?” and “​​All of this used to mean so much to me/It doesn’t mean so much anymore” are adept at taking the listener on a journey and inserting them firmly into the narrative. 

Penultimate track ‘Lakeland Echo’ is an ethereal wonder that finishes with a rousing soundscape and gradually fades out as if to give us a minute to take stock of what we’ve just listened to, until we get the sound of rain to welcome in ‘We Only Want To Make You Happy’, a strong end to the album that’s not too different to the opener—but more invigorating and uplifting.

Fans will enjoy Everything Was Forever, and there’s plenty for even more casual listeners to like too. It might not be one that’s felt instantly, but there’s a good album in there.  

Everything Was Forever arrives 18 February via Golden Chariot Records.

Grab your copy of the Gigwise print magazine here.

More about: Sea Power