Low Sea - Remote Viewing

Das in Irland beheimatete Duo Low Sea hat seine Wurzeln eigentlich in Bosnien (Billie) sowie Liverpool (Bobby D) und präsentiert auf seinem zweiten Album etwas, was sie selbst "Grey Disco" nennen. "Remote Viewing" entstand im eigenen Cottage in Galway und wurde teilweise, wie die Single / der Titelsong, von Stephen Hague neu abgemischt: 

Und so klingen die 11 unterkühlten Synth-Pop-Songs auch entsprechend nach Ladytron, New Order, Pet Shop Boys und, wenn man ganz ehrlich ist, Eighth Wonder. Denn gesanglich sind Vergleiche wie "Julee Cruise on sedatives" sehr nett formuliert und Drowned In Sound trifft es in einem fürchterlichen Verriss (1/10 Punkte) zumindest in diesem Punkt genau: 

As a duo Low Sea have two big problems: monotonous keyboard lines courtesy of Bobby D and uninteresting vocal lines from Billie. Her singing constantly feel strained. It starts on a bad foot too. An initially intriguing echo laden guitar becomes victim of reverberating synths that repeat a three-chord pattern. Then the vocals come in. Delivered with wobbles and breaks it could be Patsy Kensit at a casting call for a role as Sam Fox. The chorus does actually thicken musically but there’s no voice to run with it.

This feels like bad acting. These are attempts at pretending to be a band. The second track, ‘Sentimental Games’, is delivered with such a one-note constitution that there’s nothing to engage with. As Billie sings “I like early afternoons” there’s no way this line can be believed, then she says “and I like the rain”… ok, maybe this line resonates a little. By the time the half chorus of ‘When I’m Feeling Down’ has hit, rather unpleasantly, the best thing to do is turn off. If they can’t be bothered to do more than offer half a chorus, why bother applying the effort of full attention?

There are other bands doing this better. There have been other bands doing this better for a long time. Many of those bands are cited as influences to Low Sea. Valleys, for example, create anxiety and insecurity but make it engaging and encourage empathy to establish a connection. It’s hard to know who would connect with this. People who like the idea of moody music but who don’t care about music itself?

The Low Sea probably do care about music - but you couldn't really tell that from Remote Viewing.

Ob Drownded In Sound richtig liegt oder man eher Beschreibungen wie "combine warped seasick-shoegaze, fuzzed-out dreampop, and haunting synthwave, all cemented on a solid krautrock platform" folgt und Referenzen von Suicide, Spacemen 3 und AR Kane über Mazzy Star bis hin zu Giorgio Moroder und The Horrors heraushört, kann man derzeit recht günstig überprüfen, denn Amazon bietet "Remote Viewing" auf CD für 9 €, die Homepage der Band für 12 € an.