Seamonster//Oh Appalachia

Missing Elephant 6? Monday Mail:
What is Monday Mail?

It’s great and all that Jeff Mangum is playing the odd, rare, hard-to-get-into show every now and again, but sometimes I just get nostaligic for those records that came out at the golden age of everyone’s favorite Athens, GA-based music collective. But what’s this? Hunter from Gold Robot Records says:

Thought I'd let you know about the newest release on Gold Robot Records, my small vinyl-only label based in Oakland.
It's a 5 song 7" EP by Seamonster (Todd Webb - Virginia Beach, VA) titled Two Birds. It's a beautiful collection of songs that recall Apples in Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel, which makes sense due to the fact that Todd is loosely affiliated with the Elephant 6 collective. He's also collaborated on a book with Robert Schneider (of Apples in Stereo) who also says: “It was a happy coincidence that brought me into the world of Seamonster’s wide-eyed songs and delicate, homespun arrangements: bedroom folk-pop for day dreamers and sleep walkers alike.”

After an intro like that, I went ahead and got the full EP, which is predictably fantastic. The sounds on the album conjure up a carnival that someone has personally created for you in their bedroom on some delightfully rich but grittily lofi equipment. The songs themselves are hooky without being trite. The content is never so overly sentimental as to become cheesy, but there’s also no lack of gravitas. I guess what I’m trying to say here is, for once, the tagline lives up to the content. Warped soundscapes: check. Fuzzy guitars: check. Musical saws: check. Hushed sincere multi-tracked vocals: check. Like Elephant 6? Then you’ll like Seamonster.



Oh Appalachia.mp3

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