A BAND that formed more than two decades ago in Reading is preparing to release its 12th album.
And one of the singles has already been a hit with BBC Radio 6 Music.
Sea Power, formerly known as British Sea Power, met at the University of Reading in 2000.
They progressed from battle of the bands at their student union to Reading venues The Purple Turtle and The Rising Sun Arts Centre.
More than 20 years and many albums later, Sea Power are just months away from their next tour to mark the release their new album, Everything Was Forever, on Friday, February 11.
Guitarist Martin Noble, who now lives near Brighton, said that the album is a curated selection of tracks — some of which have been in the works for years.
His favourite, We only want to make you happy, features brothers Yan and Neil Wilkinson singing.
“It’s a kind of ballad-esque, post rock duet,” he said. “It’s really uplifting and it’s nice to get the two brothers to sing together.”
Martin said that it was important for all of the songs to stand together, and be emotionally consistent.
The hope is that the 10 tracks will get listeners more in touch with their feelings.
“The two brothers lost both of their parents in the pandemic,” Martin explained.
Some of the tracks have been influenced by their childhood memories, including Lakeland Echo, which was named after a newspaper that Yan, Neil and their father used to deliver in the Lake District.
“The tracks aren’t really trying too hard, or forcing anything,” Martin added.
The first single released from the upcoming album was Two Fingers, which has been featured heavily by BBC Radio 6 Music, and was premiered by the station’s former DJ, Shaun Keaveny.
The band said that Two Fingers is a potential anthem for troubled times, with symbols of both contempt and resolution.
It has been described as a rock song to talk back to “sundry self-serving figureheads of this era”.
Yet is also moves with hope and oppositional vigour.
One of the other singles released, Folly, is an “apocalyptic anthem” said Martin.
“Everyone [is] ambling down the road to a multitude of catastrophes,” he said. “Party on.”
“You might find yourself standing up on the South Downs, up on the fells or the dales, looking down at the world, a world where we seem to avoid the decisions and changes to stop the rot. It’s all folly, but in this case set to some pretty life-affirming music … maybe making you think it’s not all over, not quite, not yet.”
Martin said that their album is not shy on addressing things, and said that musically, it is fairly positive.
Last year, the group had a fortnight-long tour that had been previously postponed due to the pandemic.
“It was weird for everyone,” Martin said. “I felt like I had never been on stage before.”
He said that the adrenaline alone was like nothing else.
“By the end of it, you felt like you had never been away,” he added. “You could tell that everyone was loving it. I was glad to be back, it was a long time coming.”
He has the same hopes for the band’s upcoming tour in April. They will be playing at seven venues across the country, throughout the month.
The nearest venues are in Southampton and London.
For more information, or tickets, visit: www.seapowerband.com
