British Sea Power

VIMTV Episode #595: British Sea Power – Machineries of Joy

Jake: Recommended, 70/100

Tom: Recommended, 68/100

Verdict: Very well written but struggles to really engage the listener.

Overview: Machineries of Joy shows British Sea Power honing their songwriting skills by creating dense, instrumentally eclectic indie rock tracks. Acoustic and electric guitar melodies weave a nice sonic backdrop for Yan’s vocals. Other instruments such as strings and horns help fill out the very lush mix similar to how Arcade Fire constructs their soundscapes. While this album definitely succeeds from a songwriting perspective, we never felt that the vocal presentation lived up the quality of the instrumentation. British Sea Power also could have done more with shaping the record as a true album listen, bringing their listeners closer to the music and giving them a greater reason to be emotionally vested in the music.

Jake’s Track Picks:

1. Machineries of Joy
6. Monsters of Sunderland
9. A Light Above Descending

Tom’s Track Picks:

1. Machineries of Joy
4. Loving Animals
6. Monsters of Sunderland

VIMTV Episode #252: British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall

Jake: Recommended, 77/100

Tom: Recommended, 74/100

Overview: Valhalla Dancehall shows a lot of ambition in songwriting, construction, energy, and instrumentals, but the production doesn’t always enhance these good qualities. Dynamic contrast isn’t as exaggerated as it should be for the energy they’re going for, and the reverb becomes very washy at times, which prevents adequate separation between all the aspects of the mix. Besides the production, however, the songs are still pretty hit and miss– some great songs, and some “meh” songs. Still, this is an intriguing listen and shows that British Sea Power is a band that needs to be taken seriously.

Recommended Similar Artists: Doves, Annuals, Broken Social Scene, Interpol, Coldplay

Jake’s Track Picks: