Bayonne - Drastic Measures

Drastic Measures is Austin-based Roger Sellers' second full-length album to be released under the Bayonne moniker. Inspired by the symphonic pop arrangements of Mancini, Bacharach and Martin; and undeniably influenced by the electro-synth bands of the early 1980's, Drastic Measures emerges  from the new wave of composer-musician-producers, and is engineered with the draughtsman-like precision of a beautiful timepiece. It emerges as a meticulous collation of melody and minimalism, traversing the fine line between experience and exploration, and straddling the striding edge that separates confidence and self-doubt to produce a multi-layered pendulum of highs and lows.
 
From the ambient opening of Q.A. to the reflective conclusion of Bothering, the emphasis is on striving to square the circle of life as a creative musician. As well as tapping into an obvious love of composers like Reich, Reilly, and even Tangerine Dream, Sellers reaches into a rich and highly personalised collection of field recordings, which are skilfully looped into a multifarious menagerie of rich tone and sonic sampling. His vocal style is similar to that of C Duncan and, like Duncan, assumes a delicate, folk-tinged dreaminess. Along the way also expect to pick up on elements of Tears for Fears and Red Box, Keane and Coldplay, and even Phil Collins. It all makes Drastic Measures a rich and rewarding tapestry to unpick.
 
8/10