Local Review: Seaslak – Oh Lord, My Retinas!

Seaslak
Oh Lord, My Retinas!
San Alamo Records
Street: 10.04
Seaslak = Noah Kahan + Shakey Graves + Rainbow Kitten Surprise

I always struggled with the ambiguousness of the genre of Americana. Like what is it, and what exactly defines it? But when I hear a band like Provo’s Seaslak,  I begin to understand the term’s actual purpose—it allows artists to merge and move easily from folk to country, or blues to soul without worrying about what box they are being confined to or having to breaking out of, they have this ability to take what seems like disparate genres and seamlessly blend them together and make them sound as if they originated in the same place. Oh Lord, My Retinas! starts with “Graceland,” a stunningly hard-driving number with greasy Memphis-Soul fingerprints all over it; this track opens with a chugging, propelling guitar part and vocals that are as crisp and cool as the other side of the pillow on a hot night. “Graceland” is a high-energy journey that feels like a roller coaster that comes in for landing on some delightful gospel influenced choral backing vocals. This song hits differently from the rest of the EP, which admittedly doesn’t quite have the steam and sweat of the opening track, but there’s plenty of quality to come. “Prodigal Skies” is a folky, more classic Americana tune, but with that being said, the dynamics at play between velvety lead and vocal harmonies and the playful instrumental arrangement allows for a hefty yet relaxed emotional resonance throughout, making it the kind of song you put on after a bad day at work. “I count on my sins like they never got paid,” is a lyric that expresses regret and FOMO all at once. Lead singer Mick Rudolph’s voice has a stark vulnerable quality at the beginning of “Empty Glass,” laid bare by the music dropping out, and only accompanied by percussion—certain tropes of this type of music work well for this group, but this track clocking in at over 5 minutes transforms it into a bit of a toil for the listener. The title track and last song on the EP “Oh Lord, My Retinas,” is an ear wormy, folk-meets-gospel song that breaks out of the Americana-malaise mold that some of the other tracks get bogged down in. It’s a tighter tune that draws a deeper attention without being demanding. Seaslak has a metric ton of talent—it’s rough, but it’s there, and as long as it’s being refined, like good artists are always doing, they’ll find ways to bring out their collective creativity and begin to develop what is original to them. The whole release shakes out to be a net positive, making this a forest for the trees situation that still allows us to enjoy ourselves.–James Orme

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