Friday, November 23, 2007

Sea Wolf at the Belly Up

Sea Wolf


I asked Alex Church when he was in Irving after this show when was he going to play again. Alex mentioned it would not be for a long time. It turned out he was prophetic as he would later form Sea Wolf.

Dios Malos


Dios (Malos) have been around for quite sometime with their hazy psychedelic rock. I remember seeing them open for Morrissey at the Wiltern when they were called Dios. Unfortunately, they were sued by Ronnie James Dio and had to change their name to Dios Malos. I think they should have changed their name to Rainbows.

Old Man Hands



Old Man Hands from San Diego played a handful of folk infused acoustic jams. They even managed to work an accordion, flute, violin and Rhodes keyboards into the songs. Old Man Hands is the main project of Gabriel Feenbergs who was playing in other bands before heading up his solo project. It was in the same vein as Iron and Wine and Sufjan Stevens. "Weight Of the Night" is the latest release by Old Man Hands.


Sea Wolf






Sea Wolf has been gaining momentum quite rapidly as of late. Sea Wolf was recently featured on KCRW as well as Spinner.com. The word is spreading quick that their album "Leaves In The River" is one of the catchier quiet albums of 2007. Alex Church (Vocals/Guitars) has a soothing voice that meshes well with the memorable melodies of keyboards and jangly acoustic guitars. I feel the secret weapon of Sea Wolf is Aniela Perry (Cello) who amplifies the soul of the songs with her cello playing. The cello enhances the cinematic element of Alex's storytelling lyrics. Sea Wolf had the crowd in the palm of their hand by the time they played their second song of their set "Winter Windows". The cello and keyboards all realize their space in the song as they nicely blend into the Alex's voice. Sea Wolf's songs vary nicely in their pace to make each song stand out. "The Cold, The Dark & The Silence" was next and could easily dominate the airwaves with its punchy acoustic lead riff and yearning cello. "Middle Distance Runner" also has single potential with its hypnotic fingerpicking acoustic guitars and rhythmic bass drum beat. Sea Wolf will be playing a few more dates to close out 2007 but look for them to break out in 2008.

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