Album Review- Sea Wolf "White Water, White Bloom"

by: Jordan Muse

Sea Wolf captivated me with the song “You’re A Wolf.” The mellow, autumnal feel of the song hooked me into the band. With their latest release, White Water, White Bloom, they eschew that mellowness.


The album’s opener, “Wicked Blood,” is proportionally heavy for the band, with a mildly more poppy edge. One contention of the song is that it will get stuck in your head, thankfully I do enjoy it. Medieval sounds flutter about in the next track, “Dew in the Grass.” It features a heavy chorus that seamlessly bleeds back into the medieval setting. Another notable feature is the scratchy guitar solo, making it one grand track. “Orion & Dog” is a children’s story-esque tune laden with lush strings, bringing back those beloved autumnal feelings just for a bit.

Darkness arises in the next song, “Turn the Dirt Over,” but light shines down throughout. Interesting plucked arrangements twirl around throughout it, and more of those strings as well; it’s pretty unique. “O Maria!” contains some serious distortion, and wonderful shouted vocals. It calls to mind the imagination of a child…having a nightmare. It’s definitely worth a listen.
The title track has a slight Norwegian feel to it, with sounds seemingly emitting from a cold forest. The chorus is certainly very catchy in this track, and I don’t mean that as a dissention. The wind chimes are also another great feature. “Spirit Horse” has a twanging, sliding, pop-and-go set-up, backed by the perfectly aligned vocals that sound like they sung in a cave. “The Orchard” is a tad haunting. The instrumentation in the beginning is very minimalistic, though it picks up after about a minute, moving somewhat in a rush.

“The Traitor” is really poppy. The lyrics and obviously vocals aren’t bad, but the instrumentation, fueled by way too many strings and claps or clicks or whatever, is way too obnoxious. This song just drives me bonkers. The albums closer, “Winter’s Heir” is pretty chill. It’ll bring to mind images of a snowed in cabin, sitting by a fire place. It serves as an astounding ending to a predominantly well-crafted album. 8 out of 10.

Download: “Dew in the Grass,” “O Maria!” and “Spirit Horse.”