Album Review: The Seabellies 'Fever Belle'

Second albums are one of the milestones of a band’s career that can make or break their success. With the release of their album By Limbo Lake, The Seabellies have managed to breakthrough the first hurdle of success, but it is the release of their second album Fever Belle that will determine if they maintain their fan base.

By Limbo Lake defined The Seabellies as a part of the indie rock scene with its melodious pop tunes and a playful arrangement of quirky instruments. Fever Belle is a more mature album, with less catchy pop tunes and a dreamier, nuanced sound. Although this approach feels more serious and intricate, the songs are also a little blander, but it is a solid effort from the band to try and develop their sound, rather than relying on the same quicksmart indie pop formula.

There are a lot of indie bands around these days and thus, a lot of competition. With a sound that is generally pretty vanilla - the kind of music that gets played on the radio and the kind of music your mum might like - there needs to be something special added to the mixture to make it interesting. Arcade Fire fall into roughly the same genre of indie rock, but they’ve managed to overcome its bland, alt-rock blanket-sound by employing a range of creative strategies into their songs. I feel like Fever Belle may be a step toward this process for The Seabellies, but it still falls short. It’s a nice, melodious record, but nice, melodious records are not the kind you remember in a year or even in a month. It’s background music. Gentle, soothing and easy to listen to, but that doesn’t make it worth listening to.

Fever Belle’s sound is much more well produced and it is also a lot more dynamic than By Limbo Lake. The Seabellies have amped up their electronic influences, notable on the title track ‘Fever Belle.’ Longer instrumental sections have also been incorporated - probably the most engaging part of any of the songs on Fever Belle. ‘Paper Tiger’ begins with the typical indie-pop-song formula, but becomes a lot more interesting toward the end when the sound becomes heavier and the band simply jam on their instruments; a method The Seabellies replicate for the first five songs and a structure that really works for them. And when they slow down the pace with ‘Aerialite,’ an ethereal track mainly defined by light piano, these guys prove they can channel the same kind of intensity and depth without an orchestra of instruments.

Unfortunately, there are a few mediocre songs on Fever Belle that sound like B-sides from By Limbo Lake, such as basic pop-rock-tunes ‘Corner of The Room,’ and ‘Little Bomb,’ that appear after the half-point, as if the band had run out of energy, but the spark is picked up again with ‘Paper Tiger.’

Standout songs on Fever Belle, such as ‘Aerialite,’ ‘Paper Tigers’ and string-accompanied powerhouse ‘Atlantis,’ are apt demonstrations of the deeper, more gutsy sound these guys should focus on developing. The songs feel much richer than the airy indie pop formula that is often immediately catchy and then immediately forgettable, although I would have to give the same general statement as an overview of The Sebellies and most of Fever Belle. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad record, simply that The Seabellies have more work to do until they transcend indie-pop. But if anything, Fever Belle suggests they have the talent to do so in the future.

Published by AAA Backstage.