Serene
Serene
Arena Rock
Serene offer unassuming power pop in a post-rock setting, simple melodies sitting on top of lush, drifting background tracks, hinting at soundscapes shared with artists as diverse as Built To Spill, Motorpsycho, and Galaxie 500. With the vocals somewhat blending in with the instruments, buried way down in the mix, this album places the lazy, swaying music at the forefront, and lets the songs stretch in time, slowly building momentum through repetition of angular musical structures.
But while there are the occasional fine track, such as the brightly shimmering summer anthem “Sir Tumnus,” more often than not the songs fail to make any particular impression. Most tracks blend together with little to separate them either sonically or melodically. The album repeatedly fails to truly engage, instead churning out the same ideas over and over again.
One do suspect, however, that Serene have more to offer than this – the band is certainly solid enough and there are some truly mesmerizing moments on here – and this definitely holds the promise of better things to come.
Arena Rock Recording Co.: http://www.arenarockrecordingco.com
