Newcastle five-piece Seabellies have spread their wings on second record, Fever Belle, both figuratively and sonically, and in the process have crafted an assured album permeated with an ethereal ebullience that nevertheless starts to wear thin over its 53-minute running time. Produced by Berkfinger (Philadelphia Grand Jury) and Tim Whitten (The Go-Betweens, Augie March), the album opens innocuously enough with the title track, an indie gem that nevertheless doesn't set the band apart from many of their contemporaries. There is a marked shift however with ASCE, the intricacies underpinning Trent Grenell's elevated vocals. Atlantis floats along at a lysergic pace, slowly coalescing on a bedrock of strings into a choral crescendo. Single, It's Alright, strikes the emotional high points, as does Berlin Horses.
Yet Fever Belle is an inspired listen when the band delves into gossamer orchestration, dialling down the plaintive pop machinations for more delicate straits, thus making the soaring outros all the more impressive. Aerialite bubbles away, a gentle wraith floating on the slipstream, while Bodies is an insidious spiral into early Sigur Ros territory, a true highlight. The '80s new wave influence on Paper Tiger opens up into an overblown strings concerto; Context condenses into a mixture of Conor Oberst's entire oeuvre; but by the time Dark Echoes closes out the album it feels like a retread – Foals at their most esoteric. The band's instrumentation is precise and energising, but Fever Belle remains an ambitious, if somewhat over-familiar attempt at expanding horizons.
