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Reviews - Seekonk

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SEEKONK

 

‘ Pinkwood ‘ (Tongue Master)

The mood seems often one to drift into that hinterland on the edge of slumber. Seekonk wander close to the territory of Mazzy Star and there’s a gentle precision to their creations, rather like baby hands and feet. These sound as tunes played in some opulent, undisturbed chamber. The opening track ‘ Love ‘ has precise gentle mandolin and whispered soft vocals, together with background echoes and ghostly noises like lost radio stations or sleeve buttons brushing fragile strings. It seems our excursion with this five-piece from Portland, Maine, is to be a soft and cushioned ride. Certainly there are moments where the eyelids droop, while the listener eats the lotus, but in a track called ‘Power Out’ a random phrase, “like a train in Memphis”, comes out of the ether and pulls you up. And previously Hugo Banton-like church organ, has led you into ‘ Armstrong ‘,and though you’ve settled into the long intro when the voices eventually arrive they strike you as being like early Leonard Cohen. Alright, these are not electric shocks, but they’re wake-up calls none the less and they’re the grit that makes the pearl. They keep you there and as the record progresses you notice more; the desert rock and flamenco tinges of ‘ Take My Wife ‘, the sudden moments of grandeur on ‘ Orange And Blue ‘, and the almost Latinate, Herb Alpert-stylings of ‘ The Great Compromise’. So you say to yourself that next time you’ll stay awake longer, and you do.

 

- NICK WEST

SEEKONK

 

' Pinkwood ' ****

 

(Tongue Master)

 

OK it's a rubbish name, but then you could argue that Low, Hem and Mazzy Star are equally uninspiring band monikers. So let's concentrate on the music. All the aforementioned bands share one common goal and that's to bring you soft, sensitive, sensual and inspiring tunes. Don't even mention the word whimsical, this is serious stuff. Direct your thoughts inward and luxuriate in Hammond Organs, Rhodes piano, atmospheric bells and soporific yet eerie guitars. And don't forget the seductive vocals of Sarah Ramey. Seekonk are too country to be Zero 7 and not really chill-out merchants. Tunes like ' Power Out ' and ' Mar ' could be lost tracks from the Velvet Underground and Nico album, such is their gentle but jarring intensity. ' Take My Wife ' is an acid folk masterpiece that you could imagine Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds taking to make their own. Investigate.

 

- JOHN COLEMAN

SEEKONK

 

" Pinkwood "

 

(Tongue Master)

 

'Pinkwood' is a second album of laid back grooves by Portland, Maine five piece, Seekonk.
This is very much an album of 4 am moments, haunting, eerie and heart-warming all at the same time. Singer Sarah Ramey's vocals, although crystal rather than husky, tickle down your ears with the lost spirit of Leonard Cohen. At times it is simply mellow, while at other times it becomes lost in the kind of weirdness that can be found in the fields of a David Lynch film.
Opening up with 'Love', which is elegantly played, as is all of this, is delicate as a wet tissue, soft and tender, but very kind in its touch to your skin. A perfect album for the lost, delicate or lonely for the long hot summer nights.

- ANTHONY STRUTT www.pennyblackmusic.com

 

SEEKONK

 

" Pinkwood " - 3 / 5

 

(Tongue Master)

 

The second album from this Portland 5-piece was, we can only assume, put together in the comedown period from their debut, which given the chilled mode of the 8 tracks on here, must have been a very taxing piece. Seekonk tread a line between perhaps the two most laid-back musical genres. The first comparison, from opener ' Love ', is slow-core ref. Low, Codeine, and even Yo La Tengo in their non-fuzzpop mode. However, presumably worn out from their exertions, they switch tack on ' Air ' to a kind of Alternative Country, in the vein of Iron & Wine. Such comparisons aren't to do this album down - it's a lovely collection of songs - and despite the swell of organs and lack of beats it's still essentially pop music - just rather slower than most. And though it's not exactly cheerful, its beautiful harmonies make for a strangely uplifting experience. Amongst the delicate backings , you can sense the members dallying with xylophones and glockenspiels, as they mumble lazy harmonies. On ' Orange and Blue ' lazy Sarah Ramey's clear bright voice is pushed to the forefront, perfectly in an almost symphonic piece. It's a restful album and you may even have gathered the strength to tap a foot to closer ' The Great Compromise ' where the pace picks up beyond a stroll for a bossa nova workout.

 

- BB

 

 

SEEKONK

 

‘ Pinkwood ‘ – 4 out of 5

 

(Tongue Master)

 

There’s music that grabs you by throat, demanding attention … and there’s music that gently seeps into your soul. Seekonk’s blurred folk-pop belongs firmly in the latter category. However, eight songs delivering 41 minutes of mellow loveliness can be no bad thing. Sarah Ramey’s delicate, airy voice is carried along by washes of acoustic guitar, piano and organ, by shades of electronica and by pleasantly robust percussion. The pace sharpens and the mood darkens on the magnificent ‘ Mar ‘ and then it’s on to the glistening, spaced-out wonder of ‘ Take My Wife ‘ complete with choir from the band’s hometown of Portland, Maine. A gem that is well worth seeking out.

 

- SIMON COSYNS

 

 

SEEKONK

‘ Pinkwood ‘

(Tongue Master)
 

Being mislabelled as ‘slowcore’ (specifically with references to active ingredients distilled from Low and Mazzy Star) has undoubtedly dimmed the investigative urge when it comes to Portland, Maine’s Seekonk. The thought of hearing yet another late-90s copycat act trying to co-opt the sparse slow-mo sound that even Low's masterminds themselves have tired of is desperately unappealing. But forcing the album into a CD player - perhaps driven by the respect for Tongue Master Records’ discerning past signing pedigree in the UK - happily disperses any fears about Seekonk’s second album being derivative diarrhoea.

Pinkwood may indeed borrow a smidgen of Low and co.’s lethargic pacing, but as a whole, the album draws from a much broader palette. The opening “Love,” with its harmony-drenched psychedelic-folk glide, makes it pretty clear that Seekonk’s sound is far more diverse and textured than the lazy comparisons suggest. On the similarly-flavoured second track, “Armstrong,” another key component rises to the surface: lead singer Sarah Ramey. Although her narcotic tones bear an uncanny similitude to those of Margo Timmins from the Cowboy Junkies, Ramey’s presence is crucial in giving Pinkwood such a beatific yet cryptic edge. By the time “Air” strolls into the speakers, the five-piece stretches into a languorous layered reverie that recalls both latter-day Iron & Wine and the first Kingsbury Manx album. Just after “Power Out” nudges the band towards over-familiarity, in comes the soaring “Mar,” which steadily builds on a Sea & Cake percussive bed before lunging into an amplified coda that recalls one of Yo La Tengo’s most blissful wig-outs.

For the last three tracks of this too-short eight-song set, the group detaches further from easy pigeonholing. The brooding majestic melodrama of “Take My Wife” recalls the galloping gothic-country of Tarnation’s masterful Mirador and a classic Morricone cowboy film score to boot. The penultimate “Orange and Blue” is perhaps the real unexpected curveball in the whole collection, vacillating between claustrophobic near-ambient creepiness and epic theatrical openness, bizarrely imagining Brian Eno collaborating with Kate Bush in the process. “The Great Compromise” wraps up the riddle-strewn treats of Pinkwood delightfully, ploughing a drum and organ-led jazz furrow (not unlike an early-Tindersticks instrumental in fact) before seamlessly shifting into a Stereolab-like neo-easy listening outro.Whilst Pinkwood may not be the most dramatic or demonstrative record you’ll hear in 2006, it’s certainly one of the most compelling, imaginative, and unexpectedly surprising. Seek it out against your instincts’ wishes.

 

- ADRIAN PANNETT