I admit, it often happens that I fall in love – with a song, a tune, a beat. To the chagrin of all, I spend a lot of time with my new flame. Hours, days, sometimes weeks without a break. But as it’s the case with love, at some point the chilling everyday life comes in and I start to get bored; or a new hot lover will win my heart. Much rarer, however, is that an entire album is captivating me in this way. Mostly there are at least one or two songs on the record that beat out of style, don’t thrill or even have to be skipped. But they do exist, the perfect records on which every syllable is right, where individual tracks merge into a homogenous unit, leaving one breathless.

„I’ve already lost everything I could lose, and I can’t make it stop if I’m nothing to you“

„Stargazing For Beginners“ – already the name of the debut of the band Pale Seas is a seductive promise. The promise of traveling, exploring new worlds, losing oneself in the vastness of the universe – if only in spirit. But does the name what it says on the tin? Right at the beginning, the opener „Into The Night“ sucks me into a different atmosphere, dark and beautiful at the same time. As dreamy as the songs may sound, their urge is melancholy. The deep pain of a lost love is so present, so overwhelming, wrapped in the cloak of delicate tones. At this point I have to say, first of all, you have to like it, the unusually high voice of singer Jacob Scott. As polarizing as the ones of colleagues like MUSE, JJ72, Placebo or the Smashing Pumpkins – unmistakable, individual and interesting, but too extravagant for one or the other. However, the list clearly shows that Jacob is in the best of company and that it can be precisely this special feature that ultimately leads to success. With „My Own Mind“ my kryptonite is defined quite early. The driving beat, which is reminiscent of Edwyn Collin’s „A Girl Like You“, is so oldschool that you almost feel catapulted into the 60s / 70s. The song structure skillfully relies on a subliminal boost, a craving for the grand finale when the wave finally breaks and it does – with a „yeah“ that’s so energetic and new that it immediately captivates me. My second favourite „Someday“ joins seamlessly and the melancholic uptempo number has true earworm potential and sends sweet shivers over my skin. I am strangely torn between happy teetering and deeply depressed listening, but in a good way.

„But the sadness of a lifetime belongs to the night…“

„In A Past Life“ heralds a calmer phase of the album, taking us to the harsh, barren beaches of the island, which the four Britons have withdrawn for the studio recordings. With its seclusion, the Isle of Wight has placed exactly the right accents in the sound of the Pale Seas: the solitude flows through the listener with every note played. The ballad „Blood Return“ then tells of the inner struggle in overcoming the grief and the helplessness in the knowledge to have lost and now having to be without the loved one. The album’s centrepiece is the title song „Stargazing For Beginners“ with its above one-minute intro and with the vague memory of the psychedelic sounds of the Flower Power movement, it actually sends me into different spheres. I already feel the trance that’s triggered by the steady gentle „boom, boom boom“ of the beat and the wonderful female voice, which was only a background element, moves into the centre. Imaginary stars blur above me, the feeling of space and time passes, the melody glides gently and never before have I heard a more suitable title for this experience.

„All you do these days is cry. Time is never on your side.“

Before I completely drift off, „Animal Tongue“ tears me out of my nirvana and works a lot more energetically. In the foreground stands an unbelievably pleasant bassline, which gives the song enough softness and warmth despite its power. In any case, Pale Seas understand to create harmonies what especially comes to the fore in the final „Evil Is Always One Step Behind“. The tremendous talent of guitarist Graham Poole to create little melodic time travels and therewith brings out goose bumps accents again and again, the soft lulling bass of bassist Matthew Bishop and the contrasting demanding, driving rhythm of drummer Andrew Richardson combines this song in perfection. Weightless I slip into a musical endlessness and as paralysed I inevitably press the „repeat all“ button. In times of unimportant unified music, Pale Seas have an impressive recipe for success: a great pile of professionalism, the right ear for extraordinary compositions, paired with a distinctive sound and a spoonful of bittersweet melancholy. So never let it be said that the Brits can’t cook.

Tracklist:

Into The Night
My Own Mind
Someday
In A Past Life
Blood Return
Bodies
Stargazing For Beginners
Animal Tongue
Heal Slow
Evil Is Always One Step Behind