Over four hundred bands played The Great Escape 2015 and Cristobal And The Sea definitely stood out. They were playing the Paganini Ballroom with no shoes on and they could not stop dancing, creating an extremely infectious atmosphere which got everyone moving to their mystical musical rhythms in a venue that is more “wedding reception than rock theatre”. The group is a mixed bag of international influences; Alejandro ‘Ale’ Romero (vocals, bass, Spain), João Seixas (vocals, guitar, Portugual), Leïla Seguin (vocals, flute, Corsica/France), and Joshua Oldershaw (drums, UK) – all meeting at one of the least prestigious musical universities, Loughborough. Their union took them to London, where they are now based, and then to Lisbon where they recorded their beautiful debut album Sugar Now with Brooklyn producer Rust Santon (Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Beach House).

The album starts with a drawn back guitar melody dosed in reverb and their multi-cultural harmonies in ‘Counting Smile’ – think if Manu Chau did music in the style of José González, its beautiful and wistful and tied together with the alluring sounds of Leïla’s flute. ‘Sunset Of Our Troubles’ transports the listener to a bohemian day festival where it is nice and sunny with no stresses in sight. Although the band is based in the UK, they virtually take no musical influence from here (apart from the odd stumble into indie), which is brilliantly refreshing and results in an explosion of tropical and traditional sounds across their music. Take ‘Fish Eye’ with its exquisite harmonies, the verses’ sound like they are from a Brazilian ballad where the choruses transform into dazzling African party rhythms.

The mid-way point of the album brings more glorious sounds with my favourite track ‘Happy Living’. The blend of each of their voices intertwining, the delicious sounds of the flute, and the looseness of the Tropicália guitar makes this lightly psychedelic highlife tinged tune arresting to say the least. ‘Legs Gone Feathers’ takes the pace down with lulled bossa nova before kicking up into a more frantic production. Things then turn into a sun kissed dream on ‘Out’ and ‘New Carlton House’, where the male and female beck and call vocals, classical guitar and echoing atmospherics form a wondrous mixture. The final two songs, ‘Mary Ann’ and ‘Miasma’ take a dip into blissed surfer pop, combining an “all sorts” mixture from Caribbean melodies to afro-beats, epitomising everything that is so great about Cristobal And The Sea’s magical compositions (and how overlooked the flute is in modern music).

Sugar Now is an example of Cristobal And The Sea raising their game and producing a coming of age debut that is as innovative as it is triumphant. I hope they have a good distributor as this band [really] could be massive, globally – they make interesting music that is very danceable and could also be sung in four different languages. Plus, the fact that they have a brilliant live show in their locker really is the cherry on top of an already very appealing cake. I’m not saying that this is the most ground breaking album ever or a massive revelation in music, although they do have some amazing songs, but more an extremely exciting prospect that could become something rather special indeed.

Catch them supporting the equally brilliant This Is The Kit at The Haunt on 24th November to experience Cristobal And The Sea for yourself.

Iain Lauder

Facebook: facebook.com/CristobalAndTheSea
Twitter: twitter.com/CristobalBand