Review Summary: Inland Sea make an inroad to your heart...
Inland Sea is an Australian indie band boasting a 10 member line up. Yes, that’s right, a 10 member line up. Being discovered by the Australian youth radio station, Triple J, ‘Unearthed’ program, Inland Sea have released their debut EP
Traitor, and with it, comes much rigour. Inland Sea has self-produced some of the most tantalizing, gorgeous and pretty indie/folk to be heard in 2010, making a name for themselves and definite chance of becoming a large name in the indie scene.
So, what happens in a band of 10 members, and what kind of sound do they make? You’d expect a band comprising of 10 members to be a full on, cluttered instrumental orgasm, yet half of Inland Sea are actually vocalists. This aspect of the band gives their sound something different, and something that is very unique to a fairly competitive and samey genre.
Traitor really makes most of its short play time, being chock filled of gorgeous melodies that will stick on your mind for days on end. The perfect example of this is the title track, which is accompanied by simple strummed guitar, jaunty violin and of course the lovely and pretty 5 part harmonies. Each track gives something a little different, such as “All Fall Down” shows. Of course the 5 part harmonies are the major highlight, yet the instrumental work by the band is another standout with a sway guitar and piano accompaniment that really makes the track stick. Lyrically the band is quite poetic;
“Never was a traitor,
Never laughed, never thought I’d won,
Had a simple family, now my feet are sinking in the mud,
Left the door wide open, never came to take it all away.”
Traitor is an EP that is quite inspiring and has been released at the right time. Australia has just come down from the Mumford Mania of last year, and Inland Sea has produced a fantastic taste of Aussie Indie/folk that will be sure to catch any fan of the genre, and make them fall in love.
Traitor is a quaint EP that should get them quite a lot of acknowledgement – which they highly deserve. The swooning 5 part harmonies and the charming and gentle strumming of the guitar really make
Traitor one of the stand out EP’s of the year, leaving the listener wanting more.
