Well, is the Bristol sound back, or did it never go away. As soon as I found out Seasfire were from Bristol it explained a lot but also made me wonder; why does a city have such a recognisable ‘sound’? I suppose I’m no different to a lot of music listeners, I’m not a real ‘muso’. Often where a band is from or who the members are really doesn’t matter too much, my focus is always on “do I like what I’m listening to”? In Seasfire’s case that’s a yes but let’s see where this sound takes you. Will you end up trapped in it, which ever so unfortunately happened to the wonderful Portishead, or will you tread your own path. Based on what little there is available from Seasfire the jury is out on that one.

But to the track we have here; Falling. No cd this time, just a link to a YouTube video; very modern. The Bristol element comes in swathes of moodiness and a stripped back sound that focuses on piano and vocals initially. The video is all black and white and badly synced just to extend the mood even further with lots of intense looks into camera.

Josh Thorn (vocals), James Sinclair (drums, electronics), Joe Labanowski (piano, electronics, synths, vocals) and David Callaby (guitars, vocals) create a sound that is both stripped back and complex at the same time. Josh Thorn’s vocals waft across the backing with a range that seems to soar over the low intensity of the music. And then just as this lo-fi mood establishes itself in crashes much heavier synths and piano cleverly recorded far into the red giving that over the limit crunch that so reminds me of a youth mastering the vagaries of tape cassettes (you young downloaders simply have no involvement with your bootlegged music!)

Falling is receiving many plaudits in the press and on the radio. It is a good track but let’s hope it’s not the only one Seasfire turn out. SoundCloud includes a couple of other tracks which tend to show Falling as the band’s current ‘tour de force’. Music like this does take much time and craft, so let’s hope the boys keep up the work and push hard at Bristol’s musical limits.

Reviewed by D-jaysea.

Seasfire's single Falling will be available from iTunes on 27 February 2012.