Review Summary: Dive right in.
What's in a wall of sound anyway? What remains after repeated listens and a discerning ear peel back the layers of textures and effects? How does it develop when more immediate melodicism is added to the mix?
One thing I do know is that this Italian band isn't hiding behind anything. Sea Dweller know when to dial things back, but also how to meld the fuzz seamlessly into their own brand of guitar noise. In fact, guitarists Cristiano Carosi and Paolo Miceli go a step further, pitch-shifting, looping, and layering the repeats, as in the stuttering intro of "Slowdown". Combining this approach with a propulsive rhythm section pays dividends on the first four tracks of
Love Is Coming, which represent the more recent material to be found here. Country of origin aside, there really is a swooning, lovestruck feel to the murmured vocals and buildups of "She's In Ecstasy" and "Just Between Us"
The album eventually becomes a look into the past, as the latter half was previously released as the
Underwater Town EP. Fittingly, the music is more rooted in familiar genre tropes, with layers of distortion and, somewhat regrettably, vocals that are firmly buried in the mix. However, the guitar jangle of "Settings" and striking denouement "She Whispers" manage to keep their melodies from being lost in the haze, while the band's noisier side is expressed in dynamic fashion with "Every Inch".
Sea Dweller went on to release one more album, pursuing their atmospheric leanings with
Signs of a Perfect Disaster, before breaking up. Despite this,
Love Is Coming stands as a fine example of the wall of sound approach with real substance to it.
