Album Review: Andy Bull - Sea Of Approval

Andy Bull has written a second record full of beautifully dark retro-synth record just dripping with distressed '80s loops and eerie floating vocals. Taking great pains to sound like the soundtrack to your high school reunion, Sea Of Approval is a slow-motion explosion of warbling overdubs and a bass line so thick you could use it to build houses. Bull drags his songs out into deconstructed pop elements, breaking apart expectations built up by his earlier hit singles Baby I Am Nobody Now and Keep On Running (both which feature on the record) to form dreamy understated soundscapes.

Those singles really make or break Sea Of Approval, depending on your perspective. While there is no denying the sheer force of the tracks, they are of such a different calibre as to be jarring, and going from one to the other tears apart any flow or vibe. At the same time, they stand out because they are just so good, and so we're left with eight other tracks that aren't up to par.

Those eight tracks don't fade into the background though, and there is something oddly contagious about Bull's nostalgic overtures jumped up with jazz, pop and R&B influences. Nothing Is Wrong is a strong showing of the slow-burn energy that Bull is capable off, while Loved Like You and The Hill run with eclectic sandbox synth style and edgy modern melodies.