THE DEAD AT SEA ~ REEMERGENCE ... review

It is not as often as we would like that we get the chance to review an album from a band from Desert Psychlist's UK homeland, that's not to say that there are not some truly great bands/artistes making music in the British Isles its just that British bands and artistes tend not to be quite as prolific as their overseas cousins when it comes to releasing albums. Why this is we do not know, maybe it’s the way the music scene works here, but it does seem that British artistes tend to spread their releases out over longer periods of time. The Dead At Sea are a prime example of this tendency for spreading output out over extended durations, the band’s debut album "TDAS" was released in 2016 and it is only now (2024) that we get to hear its follow up "Reemergence". Has it been worth the wait you may ask, the answer to that is yes, yes and thrice yes.

There must be some sort of maritime history connection going on with The Dead At Sea as how else could you explain why a band from the land locked city of Birmingham UK would have themed both their debut and this their new album around maritime matters. Whatever the story is behind the band’s fixation with ships and sea there is no getting away from the fact that these guys know how to lay down good tunes, tunes that given the lack of vocals could be transcribed to any form of travel be it on water or through air. So, what do you get for your pound/euro/buck with "Reemergence", well what you get is five sprawling instrumentals, with a penchant to take off in any direction at any given time, plus one brief song, "Phantom Ship", that has an ambient post metal feel. Of the sprawling jams the two stand outs for Desert Psychlist are the sometimes heavy sometimes soaring title track "Reemergence" and the deeply atmospheric "The Northwest Passage" a song that possesses an undulating dynamic totally in keeping with the changeable nature of the infamous sea lane it musically portrays. In truth though there are no mediocre tracks to be found on this stunning release, each song is a journey, and each journey is one you would not want to miss.

"Reemergence" is a stunning collection of instrumental jams with the ability to take the listener outside of themselves and experience music on an almost transcendental level, the term "journey" is often overused regarding music but not here my friends, not here.

Check it out .....

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