THE ARTIFICIAL SEA – Unwritten

The Artificial Sea is a duo of American artists who put together a blend of multi-instrumental wonder from the superbly talented Kevin C. Smith with Alina Simone delivering lyrics with a sound that carries a haunting reminiscence of Bjork with a head cold. Needless to say, the vocals are a bit of an acquired taste at best. But, if you can get past or actually enjoy the vocals then you will be treated to an astounding array of instruments with a marvelous ethereal quality with a sound that varies from track to track but always shows a lightness of touch that belies the best qualities of the sounds of The xx or classic Arcade Fire. Some songs though just fall apart with the vocals taking such a prominent position they decimate the delicacy of the music, with “Baited Breath” being a prime culprit. But overall, Unwritten is a respectable album that genuinely shows off some strong instrumental and production talent.

(self-released, no address provided)