Seed

ling (Giant/Mechanic)
by Scott Hefflon

Within the first seconds of the first track, “Rapture,” the shiver begins. From there on out, the moods shift like an emotional ocean, soothing and tranquil one moment, storming passionately the next. The mixture of vocal styles, one rich and mellow and the other forceful and demanding, work magically together. As you grow accustomed to one, suddenly it is replaced with the other, contrasting voice.

Musically, the twin guitars jam acoustic offset by heavily strummed distorted power chords, a piano and full orchestration are sprinkled in, the bass sings along like a vocal melody and the drumming fluctuates from solid rock to intricate, progressive rips and fills in just the right measure.

While each and every song has those moments amidst the catchy groove that cause conversation to stop – quick flashes of “Wow” or “That’s beautiful,” best left unuttered before returning to regularly scheduled thought process – a few songs deserve special mention.

“Rapture,” the single and video, are amazing. The catch lyric “Stay with Me” will do just that. The sentiment is powerful without being contrived and the band members look wholesome and genuine. Despite their alternative posterboy good looks and youthful charm, they are presented as serious, passionate musicians. The first chords of “Kids…” always makes me think of “We are Flintstone kids/ Ten million strong and growing.” Maybe it’s just me. In the last few songs especially, you don’t even realize you’ve been riding the build up until the crash of the wave and the closing tinkling of piano keys trickle like droplets of water from your drenched head.

Admittedly, the layers sometimes bloat the well-crafted songs and turn them into lunging monstrosities. “For Adam” has the light, airy vocals of Jellyfish and the pain-in-the-heart effect followed by hope. A very hard emotional response to capture, but diehard Jellyfish fans should understand.

The pace slows down by the end, but the songs are all charged with such feeling that it’s merely the difference between uptempo jammin’ grooves and plodding, dark and sorrowful grooves. The feeling is here no matter what speed it’s played at.