I See Seaweed

I See Seaweed
Studio album by The Drones
Released 1 March 2013
Recorded 2012-2013
Genre Art rock, punk blues
Length 52:21
Label Self-released/ MGM
Producer Gareth Liddiard, Burke Reid & John Roberto
The Drones chronology
A Thousand Mistakes
(2011)A Thousand Mistakes2011		 I See Seaweed
(2013)		 Feelin Kinda Free
(2016)Feelin Kinda Free2016
Singles from I See Seaweed
  1. "How to See Through Fog"
    Released: 1 February 2013


I See Seaweed is the sixth studio album by Australian band The Drones, released in March 2013. The album was recorded by the band independently, through it would be co-distributed through Waterfront Records[1]. The album, the first to feature permanent member Steve Hesketh on keyboards, is more expansive and darker than the band's previous work, incorporating even more dynamic song structures with Liddiard's lyrics becoming more "universal" in its themes.

Background

The album is the first to feature Steve Hesketh on keyboards, who would go on to become a permanent member[2], appearing in the band's follow-up album Feelin Kinda Free[3]. It would also be the last appearance of Mike Noga on a Drones album, who would go on to focus more on his solo career[4], being replaced by original Drones drummer Chris Strybosch the following year.

Content

The album was considered to be more "expansive" than previous Drones albums[5], with many pointing out the contributions of new member Steve Hesketh. Chad Parkhill of The Quietus writes that his "piano and keyboard work seems not so much to add startlingly new elements to the band's songs but to allow them to develop their artier ambitions" going on to write that "additional textural detail [...] allows the songs to rely less on bludgeoning loud/soft contrasts than in the past."[6] Alex Griffin of Tiny Mix Tapes writes that the record comes "with more dread-filled hopelessness than an entire tent of doomed Arctic explorers, while somehow remaining more elliptical and brutal than anything else they’ve released, moving with a mixture of reckless uncertainty and whiplash dynamism that makes “Jezebel” [the first track off their 2006 release Gala Mill] feel like breakfast cereal"[7]. Chris Gridler of Beat writes that while the band's previous releases were "entrenched in the surrounding landscape and its people", on this album they "branch out and move to more universal themes" despite retaining their "strong sense of place"[8]. Andrew McMillen of Rolling Stone writes that the album contains "cracks of beauty and humour amid the darkness"[9].

The opening title track "alludes to rising seas and overpopulation"[10] and features "a melancholic verse" that "crescendoes into an explosive refrain later totally downcast in the bridge"[11] and has been called their "heaviest song – lyrically and musically" since the aforementioned "Jezebel"[12]. The second track "How To See Through Fog", the sole single released from the album, contains a "particularly arresting" piano melody[13]. "They'll Kill You", the following track, "details the failures that twenty-something Australian emigrants encounter when they try and escape reality by positing a greater one beyond that country’s borders. The cracking of illusion is painted in the way the chord progression yields and opens to a seasick lurch down the scale in the bridge, sliding like the point in an argument where things start getting thrown, and sinking towards the inevitable conclusion: “this birdhouse migrates too”" and has been described as "devastating"[14]. "A Moat You Can Stand In" harks back to the band's earlier, noisy style[15] and "lays the boot into Alan Jones, Andrew Bolt and other demagogues doing their best to destabilise the current (Australian) government"[16], also described as being "hilarious" in its "skewering" of these topics.[17]

"Nine Eyes", the following track, features semi-autobiographical lyrics that finds "Liddiard using Google Street view to observe the socioeconomic damage wrought on his home town of Port Hedland by "cashed-up bogan" mine workers"[18] that has been described as "equal parts disturbing and funny"[19]. "The Grey Leader" "eviscerates the hypocrisy of Australia's conservative politicians"[20] and has been described as sounding "almost Pink Floydian"[21]. The following track "Laika" details "the story of a dog shot into space as part of the controversial Russian space trials of the '50s" and has been described as " the most haunting tune on the album. Its curious use of piano, sudden orchestral boost and harmonizing female choir result in full-on cinematic grandeur that's fairly distant from the group's usual aesthetics, if never less commanding."[22] The final track "Why Write A Letter That You'll Never Send" has been described as "fiery", building from "a gentle acoustic intro [...] to its halfway point" before "erupting into a rant about everything from the holocaust to the Vatican, even wily a dig at Band Aid"[23]. The song "has plenty of zingers, but the structure of the song reveals that they're equally self-directed".[24]

Release

Self-released on March 1st 2013, the album was co-distributed through Waterfront Records[25]. The "Official Film Clip" for the title track, made in collaboration with Amiel Courtin-Wilson, was released through the band's official channel (now Tropical Fuck Storm Records) on September 4th, 2013.[26]


Critical Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Quietusfavorable[27]
Tiny Mix Tapesvery favorable[28]
Sputnikmusic[29]

FasterLouder wrote: "I See Seaweed often feels less like a rock album and more like a demented film score".[30] Tiny Mix Tapes called Liddiard "the greatest lyricist currently working in the idiom of guitar music (uncontestable)", calling the album "vitally relevant"[31]. Andrew McMillen wrote that it "captures a singular band in scintillating form, delivering yet another astounding collection of songs."[32]. Sputnikmusic wrote that the album "showcases The Drones at their creative peak. All eight tracks are meticulously structured, providing an excellent backdrop for Liddiard's dazzling poetry."[33] The Quietus wrote that the band "never sounded quite this good"[34].

Charts

The album peaked at number 18 on the Australian album charts. [35]

Awards

In 2013, the album was nominated for a J Award which is determined by national alternative radio station Triple J.[36] I See Seaweed was also nominated for the 2013 ARIA awards for Rock Album of the Year.[37]

Accolades

The album received acclaim from a variety of sources both within and outside its native country. In addition to the ones listed below, over 100 writers from the Music.com.au website ranked the album first in its list of the "20 Best Australian Albums of 2013".[38]

Ghosting Season called it one of their five favorite albums of the year[39].

Publication Country Accolade Rank
The Needle Drop US Top 50 Albums of 2013 42[40]
Sputnikmusic US Top 50 Albums of 2013 25[41]
FasterLouder Australia Top 50 Albums of 2013 6[42]
Flavorwire US Flavorwire’s 25 Favorite Albums of 2013 1[43]
Sydney morning Herald Australia Best music of the year: Daft Punk, Lorde and the class of 2013 2[44]

Track listing

All songs written by Gareth Liddiard.

  1. "I See Seaweed" - 8:34
  2. "How to See Through Fog" – 4:12
  3. "They'll Kill You" - 6:06
  4. "A Moat You Can Stand In" - 4:23
  5. "Nine Eyes" - 7:12
  6. "The Grey Leader" - 6:15
  7. "Laika" - 6:20
  8. "Why Write a Letter You'll Never Send" - 9:17

Personnel

All personnel information is from the albums liner notes.

Band

Production

  • Gareth Liddiard & Burke Reid - Recording and Mixing
  • John Roberto - Mastering

References

  1. ↑ "I See Seaweed - The Drones - Waterfront Records". Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ [thequietus.com/articles/11934-the-drones-i-see-seaweed-review]
  4. ↑ [www.mismatch.tv › Home › ALBUM REVIEWS]
  5. ↑
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  29. ↑
  30. ↑ "FL's Top 50 Albums of 2013". Faster Louder. Faster Louder Pty Ltd. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  31. ↑
  32. ↑
  33. ↑
  34. ↑
  35. ↑ http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Drones&titel=I+See+Seaweed&cat=a
  36. ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/jawards/13/albums/thedrones.htm. Retrieved 1/10/14. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  37. ↑ http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2013
  38. ↑ Dan Condon. "THE 20 BEST AUSTRALIAN ALBUMS OF 2013". TheMusic.com.au. Street Press Australia Pty Ltd. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  39. ↑
  40. ↑
  41. ↑
  42. ↑ "FL's Top 50 Albums of 2013". Faster Louder. Faster Louder Pty Ltd. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  43. ↑
  44. ↑
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