ALBUM REVIEW: Escape Scenes – Sea Dramas

San Francisco’s SEA DRAMAS are back with their latest album Escape Scenes. The project started out as a one-man operation created by Scott Pettersen before growing into a full band, however the events of 2020 caused Petersen to return to that solace and his home studio where it all begun. In his own words, the days and nights merged, and time turned into an illusion – something that this album succeeds in capturing.

The entire theme of the album focuses on the concept of time and the changing of seasons, and with each song you find yourself no longer in the reality that you’re familiar with. To give a taste of what’s to come, intro track Daybreak starts out with soft acoustic that is gradually joined by ethereal sound effects. The way the instruments are composed feels a little clunky, yet you can’t help but feel that it was a deliberate choice that works. It gives it a raw charm that’s rather endearing.

This is then followed by Long Goodbye that is rather upbeat. This might sound weird, but hear us out, it genuinely sounds like a version of Losing My Religion if it was composed and written for the purpose of being in a Studio Ghibli film. In fact, quite a few tracks you can easily imagine being played in any of their soundtracks, namely These Days and Sundown. Those two songs you can easily imagine being played in a dream montage filled with magic and childlike imagination and wonder.

As for the other songs, they all stand out in their own ways while still following the style of shoegaze dream-pop, where they have different meanings, but all leave you feeling calm and comforted. Nite Passengers is sweet, with elements bought in from folk music; Moon Breaks feels like it should be used as a perfect example for the shoegaze genre as a whole; and Less Than Useless is a lot more melancholic and moody in comparison to other songs, yet still in a way that doesn’t move too far from leaving you in a state of calm, like you’re resigned to the feeling.

Escape Scenes is a lovely album to be sure. It’s the perfect thing to turn on when you’re need that escape from reality, and of course for when you wish to fulfil your dream of living in a Studio Ghibli film.

Rating: 8/10

Escape Scenes is out now via Royal Oakie Records.

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