Sea Wolf

For the last month and a half I have been reading a lot of other people's "Top 10, 20, or 50 albums" posts on various sites. I always think that a lot of the lists aren't very good, but for you Track Nine readers and only you I have waded through the shit and brought you one of the pearls. Having a month or so to digest all of these 'new' albums has been great (as well as ones like Lupe Fiasco's which came so late in the year), and in fact I think my best of 2007 list would already look differently were it put out today.

Sea Wolf was one band that kept coming up on these lists with their album Leaves in the River. They are a straight-up indie band from LA that will haunt you forever after you listen to them. I say that because these songs will get stuck in your head pretty quickly. That's not because they are poppy or catchy or anything like that. It's really just because they are so well written that the parts of the songs mesh perfectly in your head....and boom...stuck.

The first tune is called 'Winter Windows'. It opens with an unusual instrument (I'm not even really sure what it is) that sounds like a synthesized bagpipe. The beat quickly kicks in and the chorus shortly soon after. Hand claps, an unusual snare pattern, and the synthesized voicing keep your foot tapping well thereafter. The second tune is 'Black Dirt' which starts off with some acoustic finger picking and then breaks into an indie gem. The last song, 'Neutral Ground' shows the softer, more dreamy side of Sea Wolf. This one uses some ambient noise and echo effects to produce a bit of a ghostly effect. It's my personal favorite, so check it out. Enjoy!

Sea Wolf - Winter Windows


Sea Wolf - Black Dirt


Sea Wolf - Neutral Ground