Transmitter is the latest EP from Brighton stalwarts Seadog and, I believe, their first release through local label Bleeding Heart Recordings. Seadog is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Mark Nathan Benton, also known for his major contributions to the work of Man Ray Sky. Seadog has been a long-term project for Benton, which always tended to have a revolving-doors lineup. Whilst at university (with the likes of Joseph Mount from Metronomy and Natasha 'Bat For Lashes' Kahn) Mark teamed up with Max Numajari who has been his most consistent collaborator since, contributing bass guitar and glockenspiel live, as well as in the studio, on a long-term basis.
Transmitter is a lovely batch of breezy dreamy pop songs with folky finger-picked guitars, prominent glockenspiel and some really tasty drumming from Ryan Bollard, who has now left the band to play in a dozen other local projects. The EP is full of atmospheric pleasant sounds – the drums are often laid-back and jazzy, the guitars are full of soft gentle or warm fuzzy tones. Benton's vocal, backed with sweet harmonies from accordionist Emma Macdonald, is also very easy on the ear – with shades of Elliott Smith at his most relaxed. With this safe combo of sounds the EP is at risk of becoming easy-listening and bland but thankfully the Transmitter EP is not without its surprises. Title track 'Transmitter', for example, is rolling along nicely in it's gentle way when out of nowhere the guitar flies off into the distance with a strangely dark and discordant tone that transforms the effect of those insistent drums and bass that keep the track buoyed up throughout. It adds a note of tension that really helps to round out the song.
'Haunted' is a gorgeous rolling number, with some beautiful brush work on the drums, the verses feature a melody that builds around the accordion drone, seemingly picked up at different places by different instruments – this really comes to the fore in the second verse where the drums kick things up a notch and the bass joins up the dots – it's a great bit of arrangement which shows off the skill of these musicians and shows Seadog have more to them than just a knack for a pleasant melody and a polite groove. There's a wintry air and consistent melancholy atmosphere to the whole EP, it's the sort of music I imagine I'd listen to on a long train journey to the north, watching the landscape slide by at high speed.
The EP draws towards a close with 'Call and Respond' which sounds like epic post-rock but it retains the same soft, gentle air as the rest of the EP until the mid-way point when things really step up a gear. Throughout the EP though, it's the bass and drums that carry things forward and when they're becoming more insistent, the guitars remained layered with delays and distortions that tend to make them washy, and although they may become more distorted they never become spiky or aggressive. The song ends with an unexpected riff full of dissonant notes, this disjointed moment leads us perfectly into the Wire & Wax remix of Transmitter which closes this collection. I see the word 'remix' and immediately start fearing I'm going to be subjected to some inappropriate shoe-horning, but this bizarre bit of work is a different kettle of fish altogether. Benton's vocal floats high above a total deconstruction of the original song with a focus on noise experimentation rather than phat beats and a dub-step bass-line – although, having said that, there is in fact a moment where I hear what could be a subtle reference to the classic 'wub-wub-wub' bass but sound it's re-contextualised to the point of total departure! A fine collection of songs and a decent bit of experimentation to keep it all interesting. Thanks Seadog, I really enjoyed that! Transmitter EP is out now on digital download with a 12” version coming to selected shops in April.
Adam Kidd
