How to Live

One of the key outfits to emerge out of Birmingham's late '90s "retro future" scene, Seeland's not inconsiderable pedigree — core members Tim Felton and Mike "Billy" Bainbridge were members of Broadcast and Plone, respectively — brings with it the classic burdens of impossible expectation and inevitable comparison to former glories. It's a challenge that their 2009 debut, Tomorrow, Today met with admirably low-key confidence, combining the naive, papery synthetics of early electropop with the cascading harmonies of '60s psychedelia, marking both an acute awareness of their heritage and a quiet desire to evolve, too.

Perversely, then, this relatively swift follow-up hones its hazy sights more on the band's organic inclinations and less on the synthetic. "Black Dot, White Spider" is a deceptively anthemic opening gambit, employing lean and pacey quantised drums and full-on fuzzed guitars to rousing effect. But from here, the synths are turned down in the mix, and Seeland retreat into more pastoral climes, most effectively in the honeyed dreampop of "Cardinal," the fizzing campfire lullaby of "How To Live," and the quietly majestic optimism of "Circles."

With its feather-light surfaces, immaculate melodies and deceptively simple warmth, How To Live confirms Seeland as a band that continues to… read more »