Avalyn - “Sea Change”
Liverpool-based Avalyn arrive on the blog with their contemporary take on shoegaze and post-punk: “Sea Change.”
The song starts with a soundscape of jangling guitars before the bass and drums are introduced, both providing the song with a groove and intensity. “Sea Change” then slightly pulls back dynamically in order to give focus to the vocal and the lyrics, which highlight the pain of losing the people who were once close to you. The bass forms a solid, warm, and deep foundation to the song, but the quieter moments have a nice, ethereal atmosphere thanks to the reverberated nature of the lead guitar. All of this, of course, has been mixed and mastered into quite a monumental production.
We really like how they have played with the tempo of this song, utilizing driving percussive grooves and slower patterns to form a nice contrast within the music. We much prefer this to the songs that find the sweet spot early on and stay there for the duration. The vocal here is light and airy and supported delicately by the dreamy backing vocals. One of the most pleasing aspects of “Sea Change” is that Avalyn manages to combine pop melodies and passionate lyrics, which you will fully realize once you press that play button.