[indie-rock] (2020) British Sea Power - Open Season [15th Anniver...

(2020) British Sea Power - Open Season [15th Anniversary Edition]

Review:

…expanded reissue include additional live sessions, B-sides and rarities from the period. British Sea Power’s 2003 debut album was a fascinating post-punk-inspired set that sparked artful originality and thought-provoking emotion. Their follow-up, Open Season, does the same but it’s much more of a streamlined affair. Open Season is virtually a 45-minute waltz of lilting string arrangements and dreamy vocals while acoustic and electric guitars chase the album’s quiet golden tones. A theme of the great outdoors makes it a relaxed occasion from start to finish; the 11 songs featured aren’t a schoolbook interpretation on life’s hardships as much as they are a reflection on the confusion (and love) of nature. Frontman Yan and his brother Hamilton remain charming eccentrics, but this time they’re poetic with their stoic, overcast outlook on modern life. The question Yan seems to ask throughout Open Season is whether or not life is really crap. Commencing with the copper-toned “It Ended on an Oily Stage,” Yan softly croons, “We found God in a parking lot.” He ponders whether the experience was actually real, and if it has ever happened to anyone. “How Will I Ever Find My Way Home?,” an emotional seesaw of crunchy guitars and sheeting percussion, is oddly comfortable with the album’s continuous mental inquisitions. The bird echoes of “Please Stand Up” match the ice-capped perils of “Oh Larsen B,” maintaining the album’s rich affections. Some might think that the five Cumbrian intellectuals have made their shining pop moment with this record despite British Sea Power making it quite obvious on The Decline of… that they’re anything but a pop band. British Sea Power’s smart approach on Open Season showcases a band in progress. This album feels alive and breathes honesty. Such an impression once again makes way for British Sea Power to stand apart from their counterparts (Doves, Coldplay, South).

Tracklist:

Disc 1
1. It Ended on an Oily Stage (04:23)
2. Be Gone (02:52)
3. How Will I Ever Find My Way Home? (03:11)
4. Like a Honeycomb (04:31)
5. Please Stand Up (03:07)
6. North Hanging Rock (04:26)
7. To Get to Sleep (03:16)
8. Victorian Ice (03:26)
9. Oh Larsen B (05:30)
10. The Land Beyond (04:00)
11. True Adventures (07:52)

Disc 2
1. It Ended on an Oily Stage (Mark Radcliffe Session) (04:32)
2. How Will I Ever Find My Way Home? (Mark Radcliffe Session) (03:12)
3. Don’t You Want to Be a Bird? (Gideon Coe Session) (03:10)
4. When I Go Out (Gideon Coe Session) (02:38 )
5. Crystal Horse (2020 Remaster) (02:43)
6. Over in the Corner (2020 Remaster) (03:48 )
7. How Will I Ever Find My Way Home? (Organ Version – 2020 Remaster) (02:34)
8. How Animals Work (Mike Hedges Version – 2020 Remaster) (03:27)
9. Runaway (2020 Remaster) (04:04)
10. Green Grass of Tunnel (2020 Remaster) (05:23)
11. Grey Goose (2020 Remaster) (03:29)
12. Chicken Pig (True Adventures Instrumental Demo – 2020 Remaster) (05:18 )
13. I Am a Cider Drinker (2020 Remaster) (04:52)

Media Report:

Genre: indie-rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits