The Sea Life - Track Review And Interview

Brooklyn – Maryland’s own The Sea Life is a beloved local band well worthy of farther-flung audiences. The group’s work is engineered for lovers of long-game bedroom rock, steeped in sonic dissonance and stewed in lyrical conjecturing. Armed with just enough of a catalog to appeal to an increasing number of fans, The Sea Life has now surfaced with a new single, “Prozac & Merlot.” Lead singer Jon Weiss spoke to BestNewBands.com about the group’s trajectory, their latest release and DC’s nascent music scene.

The Sea Life’s latest track is an enigmatic cut. The perfect mélange of distortion, wistful regret and amorphous atmospheres, it somehow sticks shapeless melodies together like glue. Set to swirling, ambient vocals, this track is neither overly produced nor pretentious. Humble and raw, it masterfully showcases The Sea Life’s propensity for truly gritty and accessible sonic invention.

“We wanted to make the song completely how it would sound live,” said Weiss. “We recorded it in our living room, using whatever we could find. There is no production magic involved; it feels real. When we play it live, you can recognize all the parts. It’s really replicable, and we really wanted that.”

The Sea Life lineup includes Weiss on guitar and vocals, Payton Brown on guitar and vocals, Jordan Sanders on bass and Ryan Witt on drums. The band’s discography to date encapsulates a range of influences that start at 70′s soul, swing to 90′s hip-hop and stagger straight through to shoegaze and modern folk. Theirs is a sound for those who discovered alternative music in youth, before developing an ear for grime and grit as they aged. This work could be likened to Built to Spill as easily as it could be compared to DIIV.

Of their recent single, Weiss said, “The title isn’t trying to send a message, it’s more about the feelings that come with people in general, who are messing with [Prozac or drinking]. More importantly, it’s about learning how to deal with being around it or recognizing there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Always the up-start, the band partnered with Homero Salazar of DC-based band Go Cozy to launch their own record label in conjunction with the single. The label is called Chimes, and it was conceived with artistic freedom and communal recognition in mind. “Prozac & Merlot” is the proud first cut to grace the newfound endeavor.

“We though to start our own label, as opposed to giving someone creative control over our music. This way we can maybe help other bands do what we’re trying to do and get some recognition for the DC scene that’s happening right now.”

For the last year, this Baltimore-bred band has resided in DC, where Weiss nodded to the city’s vibrant, burgeoning music scene. Regulars at DC9, The Black Cat and the handful of house venues that keep cropping up, this is a band adored by their hometown.

“DC has been blowing up,” said Weiss. “There are about 15 house venues that are going on right now, bringing in artists from all across the country. There’s just a lot going on- it’s awesome. A lot of bigger bands used to go on US tours and play NYC and Baltimore, and kind of skip over DC. I think that’s starting to change. Every night we’ll go to a different show and see familiar faces, and everyone is really supportive.”

The band released their debut album In Basements in October 2012. One year later, they surfaced with their EP, Transitions. “Prozak & Merlot” stands as a long anticipated and much welcomed next step for the act.

The Sea Life is currently coming off a two-week mini tour, where they hit Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philly and NYC among other cities. With a couple scattered shows on deck, Weiss hinted at another mini-tour in the fall. But the main focus for the band now is to knuckle down on their next album.

“We’re trying to finish something by the end of the year. We’ve wanted to do something big but didn’t really have the time. Right now we’re all done with school so it’s just work and music, and we’re building our own schedules around that. We’re definitely trying to record an album.”

With an amorphous release date and a loosely-earmarked tour schedule, one thing is as solid as cement: if The Sea Life’s forthcoming work is anything like what this group has delivered to date, the album promises to be a stunner.

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Liz Rowley

Born in Mexico and raised in Toronto, Jerusalem and Chicago by a pair of journalists, Liz comes to BestNewBands.com with an inherited love of writing. After discovering a niche for herself in music journalism and radio while at Bates College in Maine, she always keeps a running playlist of new music to soundtrack her place in the world. Liz is passionate about helping dedicated, talented musicians gain the exposure they deserve. A recent transplant to Brooklyn from Hawaii, she is plagued by an incurable case of wanderlust and cursed with an affinity for old maps and old things like typewriters and vintage books. She adores photography and running and is very good with plants. Having come of age in Chicago, Wilco speaks to her soul. If she could be anything, she would be a cat in a Murakami novel.