Sheen Marina - S/T
Brooklyn four-piece Sheen Marina shared their self-titled second full-length recently, and it’s clear that the band has altered their formula a bit since their last release. The adventurous math rockers are known to write songs that are unconventional in structure, but their new record focuses more on creating nice, dewy atmospheres, with each song flowing into the next, and a mood that coalesces across its eleven tracks. Nothing sounds out of place, and while the band still keeps their experimental streak alive, this new collection of songs is more ambitious from an overarching songwriting perspective. There’s a clear intention by the quartet to create something with cover-to-cover strength and cohesion. In this way, it represents the band’s progression and is reflective of a more unified vision, rather than an amalgamation of ideas and sounds.
Some of Sheen Marina’s prior releases were prone to jolts and jitters, which of course, comes with the territory of making music that falls under the umbrella of the math rock genre. Specific moments on their 2018 EP Travel Lightly come to mind, particularly a few towards the end of its runtime. The title track, which is also the final song on the EP, kind of bops you in the face immediately, following the more cosmic chaos of the preceding song, “Ugly Viper.” There’s decidedly less of that on this record. Rather, it seems as if the band deliberately tries to keep the energy levels spread out fairly evenly. That’s not to say that the energy levels are low, the album is actually mostly quite swift-moving and the overall mood never really gets knocked off course. They achieve a sort of chill-manic guitar haze early on in and stay locked in as the record progresses, achieving liftoff on “Cub Scouts,” and my personal favorite “We Were Saying,” a song that manages to maintain a relaxing aura despite the number of intricate riffs that jockey for position. Lyrically, the tracks are mostly on the abstract side of things, but the band does leave some room to be a bit more political on the very Dismemberment Plan-sounding “Swamp King,” railing against the trappings of America’s oligarchy. Sheen Marina definitely works in those unconventional time signatures and crunchy guitars, especially on songs like “Dollars” and album closer “Mid Noughts.” On the latter, their playing gets delightfully erratic before the low ends take control in the album’s final moments.
Though I’ve singled out a handful of songs, I wouldn’t recommend skipping through tracks or searching around for your favorites. Instead, I enjoy this album from front to back in a single sitting. Put on your best pair of headphones, sit back in a comfy chair, and let Sheen Marina whisk you away into their universe.
Stream the record below!
You can purchase the album via Bandcamp. It’s also available on all streaming platforms. Keep up with Sheen Marina by following them on Instagram and liking them on Facebook.
