British Sea Power - Open Season Review

I was scared to listen to this album, the sophomore album by one of my favorite up and coming bands. BSP’s debut album, the sardonically titled “The Decline Of British Sea Power” was, for my money, an instant classic and one of the best debut albums in recent memory. I suppose BSP might be compared favorably to a band such as Interpol, only with more of a British slant. Maybe a little less Pixies and a little more Joy Division. Comparisons to Joy Division certainly peppered reviews of their first album, but BSP were far from mere post punk wannabes. Revivalist tones seeped through the ferocious and frenetic guitar attacks and furious drum beats, but BSP also knew when to allow the music to convey less intensity and more melody, as evidenced by tracks such as “Blackout.” It was deeply engrossing music, appealing to my sensibilities for loudness and softness, and I listened to “The Decline of BSP” on a regular basis for at least three or four months after I bought it. Three years later, their debut still hasn’t gotten old.

So it was with trepidation when I first popped in “Open Season” by these crazy British men. The opening track, “It Ended On An Oily Stage,” certainly introduces the overall tone of the rest of the record. Unlike the choral intro “Men Together Today” of “The Decline of BSP,” which led into the rowdy and punkish “Apologies To Insect Life” (and its amusing lyrical tribute to Fyodor Dostoevsky), “Open Season” comes right out with a rather catchy pop tune. Indeed, “Open Season” is utterly different in tone from “The Decline Of BSP.” I sure didn’t predict that the band would go in this direction. I expected something more wild and uncontrollable, and I was caught by surprise upon discovering the melodic beauty of their second album. The exciting rhythm section still does its job but now the melodies have caught up, without losing any of the passion of the previous release.

Eleven tracks and each of them are excellent. There’s nothing here quite so wild as “Apologies To Insect Life,” but BSP are anything but one-dimensional. The guitars can still get loud, but there’s a lot of purpose and control with every distortion and special effect. Dig the riff on “Please Stand Up,” one of my favorite cuts. It’s harmonious and majestic, conveying, with the lyrics (“If there\'s anyone asking, did you get a rush? / There\'s no point in asking, it wasn\'t enough / There\'s nobody else here, so please stand up”) a melancholy sense of complacency that is infinitely listenable, universal, and personal at the same time.

Lyrically, BSP still retain the humor and the wit of their first album. Case in point: the ninth track, “Oh Larsen B,” which is quite possibly the most touching tribute to an iceberg. Yes. An iceberg. For a lesser band, a song about an iceberg might be played purely for laughs, or at best, may be a throwaway B-Side. BSP play it straight, with just a hint of irony, and the results are stunning. It’s a well-paced, driving melodic rock song with amusing and yet strangely emotional lyrics, delivered with just enough sincerity and humor by lead singer Yan. When he sings, “You\'re fractured and cold but your heart is unbroken / My favourite foremost coastal Antarctic shelf,” it sounds like a metaphor for encouraging a depressed friend. And yet, with the following two lines, “Oh Larsen B, oh you can fall on me / Oh Larsen B, desalinate the barren sea,” it’s clear that the friend in need is the iceberg itself. It’s a bizarre topic for a song, to be sure, but it’s unique, pleasant to the ear, and far more touching than I can possibly describe it to be.

The penultimate track, “The Land Beyond,” perfectly encapsulates the album as a whole. It’s a slow ballad, complete with an understated string section and hushed and restrained vocals by Hamilton, the band’s other vocalist. The haunting music captures the sense of wonder, beauty, and exploration that is inherent in the rest of the album. If “The Land Beyond” describes a journey to a world of beauty, then I would love for British Sea Power to be my tour guides.

"Open Season" is on sale April 5, 0005 from Rough Trade.