The Seam - So Long, Cityscape

The Seam

So Long, Cityscape
self-released; 2013

3.5 out of 5

By Ted Rogan

Self-described as good ole southern boys, The Seam is comprised of Jake Decker, Ben Towhey and Brad Dillard. They recently released their first EP as they head into the studio to follow up with a full length. This is an alternative CD that sounds as if you put The Edge and a stereotypical hard rock vocalist from the 90’s in a room together (At least for the first couple of songs). The EP has straightforward rock songs as well as acoustic ballads that are trying to appeal to a wide audience. With that they will probably be successful at finding an audience with people who are the fans of The Doves, U2, Pearl Jam, and Mumford and Sons. The songs while often utilizing a lot of clichés are well produced and have moments that work well. This EP is on the verge of sounding too contrived but somehow gets away with it. Do you remember when you saw that movie “once” and were like I think I don’t like this at all and then three days later you were singing the songs in the shower. That’s kind of what happened here. I definitely had very ambivalent feelings on first listen but after a couple of spins they really started to grow on me.

The first half was a decent start if somewhat a bit misleading as to what the last half of the EP was going to be like. The song has soaring edge inspired guitars and vocals sung with conviction that end up sounding somewhere between U2 and The Doves. What’s funny is that with each song they rock out less and less which isn’t a bad thing. I felt the best two tracks on the EP were the most sparse. “Beautiful” was a soft acoustic song that sounded great - good harmonies, cool riff and solid song writing. “My Only One” was a good closer as it displays both their softer side and their ability to rock.  The Seam know what sound they are going for and seem to be perfecting it. It got me interested enough to want to check out their full-length and see where they take their sound from here.

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