One thing I adore about writing reviews is that every now and again you come across a band who you just ‘get’, my newest discovery in this respect? The Hundredth Anniversary. The local Brighton three-piece specialise in bringing some incredibly soothing sounds which are more than sure to help you enter a state of musical euphoria. Their debut album Sea State Pictures is a truly stunning record and really makes The Hundredth Anniversary shine out a lot from the majority of upcoming bands.

The album’s transient vibes are present from the offset and create an immediately enticing listen. The introductory song to the album ‘After I Was Thrown In The River’ is a great embodiment of just what the band are all about. A hollowing bass riff slowly becomes layered with a fulfilling clean ring of guitar and keys before the breaking into the calming vocals from singer, Eleanor Rudge. Eleanor’s vocals are beautifully subtle but still project an awful lot into the track, the dreamy tones her voice holds are almost overpowered by the backing instruments, however the result is dazzling. This finely tuned harmony between the vocals and instrument really makes for a holistic feel to the track, each sound relies on the others to produce a whole sound as opposed to one trying to steal the spotlight. Similarly, when the chorus opens up and the sound grows, the change of pace really takes the track in a refreshing direction that I was not expecting.

Throughout, the album’s tone seems to drift from light to dark, some songs have a far more upbeat sound whilst others, such as the delightfully named ’I’m Dead I’m Dead’, stress more grey tones, emphasising a far more raspy feel to Eleanor’s vocals. These slower numbers really excel in their atmospheric purpose and really add a lot to the general aura of the album, the minimalistic structures generate some almost poetic moments which meet the ear incredibly nicely. ’River Unwelcome’ uses such techniques but just as you’re getting comfortable with the minimal tones, a drum beat kicks in and powerful but delicate guitar strums change the trance like sound into a more holistically satisfying track.

The Hundredth Anniversary have very much got their sound together and it is clear that each member is more than aware of what works and what doesn’t. Eleanor’s wispy sound bounces so serenely off the woody basslines and the clean chill from the lead guitar acts as a sort of glue which holds the sound nicely together. Similarly, there is a notable presence of experimentation in amongst the sound which is what really makes The Hundredth Anniversary a band to be watching. Tracks such as ‘Knife’ feel almost ethereal in nature and offer a vibe which I have seen few achieve this well in a while. With such experimentation though, the results vary in their effectiveness. ‘The Outside In’ is certainly one of the more bizarre numbers, a spoken word introduction from a male voice is incredibly jarring. I did have to check if this was still the same band I was listening to before, the male vocals do certainly throw another dynamic into the album and stir things up which some may really like personally however, the drastic change from Eleanor’s vocals did deter slightly from the pacing of the album and as Eleanor’s vocals come in towards the end of the track, I was left wanting just a little more.

Nonetheless, on the whole, Sea State Pictures is a great album. Each song is certainly able to hold its own and stands out from the others leaving no two tracks feeling the same. However, each number blends beautifully with the others and makes for a great listen from cover to cover. In their own bio, The Hundredth Anniversary refer to themselves as pastoral slowcore and such a description could not suit their sound better, the sound is delightfully alluring and the dreamy tones make for a brilliant escape from daily life that you can just sink into. I’m really intrigued to see how The Hundredth Anniversary will develop their sound through their future releases, but if their debut is anything to go by, I am sure this won’t the last time we hear from this Brighton trio.
Ben Walker

Website: thehundredthanniversary.com

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