By: Chad Murray
Blue Navy | facebook | bandcamp | soundcloud |
A seventeen year old did something that wasn’t terrible, seriously? I’ll try not to be condescending but, essentially you’ve got a project where a seventeen year old does everything and does a fine job too. Is it an album oozing with potential? Is it insufferably adolescent drivel? My interest was piqued from the start.
The sparkling of chimes opens the album amidst thick hazey guitar work buried in reverb, serenely melancholic. The picturesque instrumental building a forest through delicate evocations of harmony. “I’ve made some poor decisions, but they will linger until I’m dead”, certainly a startling opening line from the young crooner. The slow worn out vocals seep into ‘Hallway’ as crushing waves of despair. The vocal melody undergoes a great progression throughout the song building to a sorrowful bawl as the track reaches its conclusion. Whilst, the opening lyric and a phrase such as “I’m a skeleton, I’m an insect, I’m not man enough” show a lot of promise, it could be a bit melodramatic or adolescent for some in other areas. Whilst, this might be a backward compliment, I imagine this is probably the level a young Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) would likely have written at in his youth. An assured first impression, in any case.
The opening soundscape in ‘Orchard’ is absolutely stunning; it’s a shame there’s not more of it, it could be a track in its own right. Dense pads, delicate piano playing and beautiful guitars, they almost seem interrupted when the opening vocals kick in. I would argue a more Her Name is Calla ‘Condor and River’ approach would’ve been really nice with this song. The instrumental completely dominates in the background screaming to come out more against the vocal. Although, the vocal fits perfectly well, what lies below is enrapturing and sublime. The breakdown around the five minute mark is however, an excellent moment for the vocals in the track; songwriter, Jake Dryzal isolates his words and soaks them in an aquatic chamber of reverb and decay
“one by one, they germinated into nothing.
They were too submerged in water, brought by your mother.
You left her ocean, still amphibious, too cold-blooded, for me, I see.”
The closing of the track utilises a cinematically orchestral layering of triumphant strings crashing into the layers that had carried the track thus far as Dryzal mourns the song out to a close.
‘July 8’ is excellent; it sounds like the outcome of a Bruce Springsteen track meeting Dryzal and a hatchet whilst the former was on a downer. The upbeat chords are washed away in a sea of reverberation and though Jake teases a way out, he expertly brings it all crashing back down. The excellent layering that permeates throughout the album sees echoing tremolos soaring through and various guitars bouncing off each other to create an almost tangible warmth in ‘July 8’. The themes in the song centralise the vocals in its listening the climax being the lyric “you shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination”. Triumphant instrumentation carries the song to a conclusion with the phrase “dead (to you)” echoing over the top.
“I dreamt of you in your flowing silk red dress walking through the streets of Paris waiting for someone to impress.” ‘St. Valentine’s Day’ begins with some softly plucked guitar work. The vocals shine on this track. It seems to play to Dryzal’s strengths and the vocal melody adds a weight of emotion to the hypnotic instrumentals.
‘Iris/Tropicana’ might be my favourite song on the album. It starts off with some plucked guitar that builds into a post-rock rhythm guitar section with some nice diddles layered over the top. Slowly a riff enters the fray, it becomes almost Mogwai-esque for a moment and then boom; excellent Low-esque vocal melody enters the fray. “I love you, but there’s nothing I can do.” The songs evolves into what is basically a slow motion reworking of early Radiohead and it’s brilliant. It doesn’t stop there there’s an absolute stunning climax as the vocalist croons “so she can walk into my arms” followed by a transcendent wall of sound. Even the conclusion is spectacular; a masterful peak on this debut album.
I’m pretty sure ‘5 A.M’ is ‘Transmission’ by Joy Division when you listen to it sedated under a few pillows of diazepam. The guitar work is almost psychobilly and Gun Club-esque but, at the same time it bares the washed out danceability of bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain. Vocally, it’s a tranquillising hilight of the album and an engrossing performance.
‘St. Mary’s’ opening guitar line is evocative of church bells and the bass chirps in beneath like a gong. This serene setting is met with arresting sonorous vocals rumbling the track outwards. The guitar work takes a more sinister route through a Doors-esque desert as the narrative builds into darkness. “I saw you die on your front porch that night”. The tearful shrill of guitars, pads and strings engulfs the track in heartbreak as it draws to a close.
Many of the tracks on the album remind me of dream pop bands like Beach House, ‘Queensland’ for me fits into this category as well; the pop element sees itself better realised in more melodic and upbeat guitar work. The vocals remain as sullen as ever but, as with the rest of the LP that works to blend the singing with the instrumentals better and maintain the narrative of the album. The crescendo in the album is what I imagine a slowcore version of the Twilight Sad’s early work would sound like; it’s amazing how many great bands Blue Navy reminds me of maybe, that’s because Blue Navy is on the way to becoming great himself?
‘Catharine’ initially reminded me of the middle section from Bohemian Rhapsody but, then I quickly realised it was something else. Cascading layers of reverberated guitars resonate into open air. Several vocal layers collide disorientating the listener as the guitars quietly rise and fall. Personally, I don’t think Catharine stands on the same level as most of the other songs on the album. There’s a pretty nice instrumental section at the end but, generally speaking the track doesn’t have the same inherent magnetism that illuminates the bulk of the record. With the album being a whopping one hour and fifteen minutes, I would have axed two or three of the weaker songs but, I imagine the concept within the album probably held the weaker tracks in.
The final song on Mine is ‘Blue Eyes’; delicate guitar work eases in the track with a calming high pitched tone peering overhead. The vocals begin equally as hushed like a lullaby or a requiem. The contemplative song bids farewell to a former love “open up your blue eyes. Realize it’s time to go. Time to set you free, time to let you be. From sea to blue sea, without me”. The narrative is well-manifested in the track and the introspection of the singer is evident within the execution. “With much remorse, I say goodbye.” The track slowly unwinds with the vocals dropping out and the instrumentation slowly departing before bowing out.
Overall, this is a strong debut with a lot of promise; I imagine the songwriter probably had a hard time deciding which tracks to put on the album and wanted to feature as many as possible but, I do feel as though some aren’t as strong others. With that being said there are some absolutely excellent songs on this album and I foresee Jake Dryzal is gonna do some great stuff as Blue Navy.
