Music > Album Reviews

The See See // Fountayne Mountain

29/07/12

Release Date: 2nd July 2012

The See See - Fountayne Mountain (Dell’Orso) 

The See See are a multi-national five-piece based in London, with members hailing from New Zealand, Detroit, Sweden and, less exotically, Leeds. Despite this, the sound is very much West Coast psychedelic country rock with Love, The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash being the See See’s holy trinity.

In the main, this is pleasant, unexceptional, unoriginal and inoffensive in a late ‘60s / early ‘70s kind of way, comparable to a blander (more cheerful) Fleet Foxes or “.. Van Occupanther” period Midlake. However, that is not the whole story.

On 'Sweet Hands', the title track and 'The Day that was the Day', the band steps outside its default setting and brings Spacemen 3, My Bloody Valentine and Crazy Horse into the mix. These three songs are close to exceptional and would make a brilliant EP.

Unfortunately, with the exception of the three named songs, I doubt I’ll be going out of my way to listen to this album again. However, I will certainly be keeping an eye on this band. If they can go beyond their influences, the See See could just produce a work of brilliance.

Pavlis 8/10 for 'Sweet Hands', the title track and 'The Day That Was The Day', 2/10  for the rest