iSound

Pleasantly disheveled and slightly wistful, Red Sea Station has crafted an indie album with a mélange of small, revolving melodic motifs coming from every direction, united with a backbone of sprightly, rubbery beats. Cycling twinkles framed by a fast, glitch-pop electro attack full of sine wave blips and fuzzed-out guitars, they are perpetually watching the sun break out of the clouds. It is an album like that of Syd Barrett’s, at times cheerful to the point of absurdity, as well as great fun and yet at others eerily poignant and prophetic. Musical arrangements aside, the real story lies in the making of the album. It was recorded across six thousand miles and six cities (San Diego, Detroit, New York, Portland, Cairo, Albany) in bedrooms, bathrooms, basements, and everywhere in between. And then tragedy struck. Near the completion of the project, band member Jeff Grey was camping in Michigan when he was caught up in an unexpected windstorm. A tree came crashing down on his tent, k...