Wednesday 12 January 2011



Observe the skies

QBiM SPiNS British Sea Power's Valhalla Dancehall

Three years and four days from the day that I declared Do You Like Rock Music? as “the first great rock album of 2008″ (see here) I’m about to repeat myself.  And why shouldn’t I?  British Sea Power have repeated themselves, producing a follow-up to their Mercury Prize nominated third album that’s not so far off the mark from its predecessor.  Valhalla Dancehall buffs, shines and refines all the markings that made British Sea Power standouts in 2008 and applies them to another stellar set of songs that seem to teeter on the precipice of an infinite galactic cliff.  There are stars in British Sea Power’s eyes (“Luna”) while society around them falters and fails (“Who’s In Control?”), and Valhalla Dancehall revels in the dichotomy.

In places, their trademark blustering guitars take a backseat to welcomed keyboards and electro squiggles, providing a slight reprieve to for the listener to catch their breath and allow British Sea Power to spread their wings and take off in unexpected directions.  It all hangs together wonderfully, intuitively even.  I once described the band to a fellow music fan as “organic rock”, because their sound has always come off as being instinctual, effortless, and far less calculated than some of their contemporaries.  I could spend an entire paragraph citing examples of that organic quality on Valhalla Dancehall, but ultimately, the whole record is a testament to their natural songwriting ability.

I was quick to say in 2008 that Do You Like Rock Music? would end up as “one of the musical highlights” of the year, and sure enough, it made my list 12 months later.  I won’t be as fast to make any such pronouncements yet, but so far, Valhalla Dancehall has proved itself to be the kind of record that is best listened to in its entirety, and that’s what I consider when it comes to making that list of 10 favourite albums each December.  Regardless of whether it has that kind of staying power, I know I’ll be talking about–and playing–this album to anyone who’ll listen to me for the foreseeable future.

MP3: British Sea Power “Who’s In Control?”
Myspace: British Sea Power
Facebook: British Sea Power
Twitter: British Sea Power





by J. Di Gioia | 1 Comment »

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 12th, 2011 at 8:35 am and is filed under MP3, QBiM SPiNS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “Observe the skies”

the needle drop January 12th, 2011 at 4:12 pm

Hah, you SHOULD repeat yourself. I feel like this LP takes the straightforward sound of DYLRM and makes it much more epic. i’d be honored if you’d check out my review of the album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzKcgB0n5XE