With the upcoming release of By the Sea’s debut EP ‘Endless Days, Crystal Sky’ the preview of ‘I See A Crystal Sky’ was released earlier this year. In the build up to the album’s release, the mystifying five piece band are set to play numerous festivals; from their recent performance at Wakestock festival and their forthcoming show at Festevol on August 9th.
After previous single releases such as ‘Eveline’ and ‘Dream Waters’, By the Sea left their fans desperate for more; the preview of featured single ‘I See A Crystal Sky’ has only made the wait more excruciating.
Labelling themselves as ‘escape pop’, ‘I See A Crystal Sky’ conveys this description perfectly. The layers of texture created by the intersperse of synth and guitar, delays, effects and synth pads creates a mysterious atmosphere designed to symbolise the ‘escapism’ the band intend to provide
The bleak and moody tone of the song has an unexpected uplifting feeling which also represents the desired sensation of escapism as it transports the audience away from reality; this being particularly due to the heavy use of effects, especially on the vocals. Although the slightly constrained dynamic range restricts the song from reaching a clear climax, this does not retract from the overall quality, but contributes to the dream-like feeling that transcends the listener into the world of escape pop.
The resemblance to shoegaze band ‘Slowdive’ is uncanny, and with the upcoming release of the album, it leaves listeners in wonder as to whether the preview of ‘I See A Crystal Sky’ is any insight to the overall sound and feel of what is to come on the rest of the album and if the next step for By the Sea is to develop a more profound sound within the shoegaze or escape pop genre.
‘Endless days, Crystal sky’ is set to be released on August 18th and they will performing at this year’s Liverpool International Music Festival alongside artists as big as Foxes, The Hoosiers and Kid Creole post album release on August 24th
For more info on the band follow them on Facebook & Twitter and to listen to their songs visit their Soundcloud page. .
Rosa Weiner
