So Exactly How Did It Get So Oily?

British Sea Power - Open Season
I love this band. Of course, it's mostly because I love their music... but I also love their image and the fact that they are so unabashedly British. Even right down the the production on their albums which, to me, can be so abrasive. I personally have to run it through an equalizer to warm it up a little with some bass, reducing the mids a little... But, I don't fault them for this because I know the sound they want to capture... that old school brit, "Jesus and the Mary Chain" brashness.

And while this album has the same production feel of their debut album, they do not hit us with as much of the raucous guitars and in-your-face songs. Don't get me wrong, any of the songs on Open Season could easily fit on The Decline of British Sea Power, but the overall feel of the album is different. I suppose to some it could come off as a band trying to tone down their sound for the masses, but I see it as a band growing and perhaps becoming a little more introspective. "It Ended On an Oily Stage" starts the album off perfectly and is joined by "Please Stand Up" as classic BSP. I'd say the only two tracks that were surprising by themselves would be the last two of the album, "The Land Beyond" which kinda sounds a little tweepopish, and "True Adventures" running an epic 8 minutes and closing out the album in a mysteriousf fashion. Enjoy!