The Sun And The Sea – Vega EP Review
rating: 5
You may not have heard of The Sun and the Sea, but they have been around for a few years under the name, The Graduate. The Graduate formed in 2005 and were active until their indefinite hiatus in 2011. They released two albums which received high praise. I liked their style of music, and was most definitely a fan of theirs. So with great pleasure I bring you the first EP in their new format, Vega. The five track EP has an overall very atmospheric and progressive feel to it. If you are familiar with their previous work you will very much be at home when listening to this EP. We start off with Waves. A traditional feel which is similar to their original sound, yet it comes across as fresh and improved. I like the addition of the synth elements, as it adds to the song overall. One By One is most like their previous works. Good vocals combined with a synth/pop/rock sound make for a very relaxing listen. The lyrics are excellent and it really does show of great promise to come. Valiant hits you straight away with a sound that comes straight from the 80s, but as soon as the vocals and guitars kick in, it merges into a modern piece. Again the song is relaxing and calm, and would definitely be categorised as a song to sway to, rather than rock out with. I must say Valiant is probably my favourite track on this EP. It has elements of everything, and does it exceptionally well. Almost Home starts with some ambiance in the form of synth pianos and gentle vocals. Again a very relaxing and calm track which could almost be described as soothing. Maybe Ambient Progressive Pop Rock would be the best genre description for this EP Either way it is excellent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7DoWMB44kc The final track is We Deal in Illusions. At seven minutes long it definitely fills the progressive element of my genre description for them. After 4:30, the song appears to finish yet it continues with an ambient piano outro. This really summarises the EP as mellow, calm and a refreshing change of pace from most of the music being released. I highly rate this EP and happily give it 5 stars. The combination of synths, guitars, vocals and everything else on display really merges and works together to create a well-rounded piece of music. I am very much looking forward to see what else they produce in the future, as it will be well worth hearing.