New sounds bring authority to music while making life easier in the dancehall created by British Sea Power.
Artwork by Sean Gonzalez
On January 11th 2011 British indie rock band British Sea Power released its new album entitled Valhalla Dancehall. British Sea Power is not yet a successful name in the United States, and unfortunately this new album is not yet the answer to becoming a worldwide success.
Although very innovative, the band is not producing anything new that anyone has heard of before. The band is compared many times to U2, who made the same form of music 30 years ago. The album is a great listen, but although it can strike success in Europe, it may not have the same appeal to the states, because it has all been done before.
British Sea Power matches in many ways the sound of U2. The guitars and overall atmosphere of the music seems to glimmer. It is as if the listener is hearing a massive rock song that has some sort of global importance to it, like the way an important actress seems to glitter and shine in the lights. This is demonstrated in the songs Who’s In Control and We Are Sound. The guitars range from fast and aggressive punk chords to the slower ringing notes that add a beautiful simplistic approach to music.
The new album also introduces new sounds, adding synthesizers into the formula of rock music. The new random beeps and other video-game-sounding notes help define the flow of the album. Many bands have gone to this new approach, but many have failed for the complex nature they bring, trying to make individual melodies with these synthesizers instead of adding a subtle note here and there to allow certain melodies to co-exist in the same song. Introducing synthesizers also creates more depth to certain progressions of chords. In multiple choruses throughout the songs a synthesizer is used to add a quietly overwhelming sound presence.
The vocals of the album are very soothing, even in the harsh punk influenced songs where normally the vocals are loud and annoying. The two vocalists and brothers Yan and Hamilton Wilkinson each have their own unique, soothing melodic styles. The voices are rather deep, but it does not have that rasp that can ruin a mellow song. Neither of the two sound like a frog croaking their way through a tune. Both of them remind me of Kele Okereke, a singer from another Birtish indie rock band, Bloc Party. In certain situations I get the two confused, as both singers and bands play very similar music.
The best song on the album is the first single Living Is So Easy, which does actually describe why living is so easy. The laid-back presence in the song makes it easy to fall asleep to. It is very easy to show to friends, because it gives me the impression of a song I can listen to with anyone. I imagine the That 70’s Show, where a bunch of friends can sit in a circle, reflect on their days, and this song is in the atmosphere, playing in the background.
With British Sea Power once again reaching the charts in the UK with another album, living is so easy while listening to Valhalla Dancehall.
