Album Review: Seja - All Our Wires

Brisbane synth magician Seja has made a huge leap forward with her second album All Our Wires. Her debut on local label Rice Is Nice (We Have Secrets But Nobody Cares) was a simple pop album with some clever hooks, but it felt disjointed and lacked confidence. All Our Wires is a great release that is effortless to listen to. It's a pastoral take on synth pop and feels relaxed and warm, and it achieves this despite several shifts in tone and tempo.

All Our Wires is a far more accomplished work than Secrets…, and the restraint and subtlety shown here is admirable given so much of the album relies on synth to stand out from a crowded alt-pop landscape. Despite Seja's obsession, the instrument (not famous for its subtlety) is integrated seamlessly into the larger picture, with soft guitars and a lush '60s r'n'b rhythm section allowed to gently push forward into the foreground. It gives the album a sense of balance and cohesiveness, and a much more vivid lasting impression as a result.

Over the years working with Sekiden and touring with Regurgitator, Seja has honed a strong sense of pop dynamics, and All Our Wires is full of great moments that draw from many pop styles. Opening track Like Fireflies has a bright vintage synth buzzing over the top of cooing harmonies and shoo-wop refrains pulled directly from early '60s radio. When You Said You Were Mine locks in a slow burning groove as she sings about lost love while driving down a long empty highway. 

All Our Wires has Seja lifting her game, and everything about this album is a step ahead. It's a solid local release, holding a sunny disposition that's perfect for a mid-June pick-me-up, and serves as a very promising indication of things to come.