British Sea Power

This sophomore offering from the Brighton quartet British Sea Power blends two forms of British Romanticism: 1980s new wave and 1880s Victorian poetry. Frontman Yan likens emotional states to states of nature. "Lakes are forming on the pockets of your brain," he sings on "True Adventures," later turning his attention to the ocean for "Oh Larsen B": "You're fractured and cold, but your heart is unbroken/ My favorite, foremost coastal Antarctic shelf/ Oh Larsen B, oh you can fall on me!" The lyrics on Open Season can get particularly verbose (see "Agonic lines, ascendancies/ And amatory tendencies," from "Be Gone"), but the melodies and rhythms produce both upbeat anthems suitable for a drive to the beach with chums after a breakup and cathartic ambient ballads to ponder on the way home; "I headed for the coastal regions of my mind," sings Yan on "It Ended on an Oily Stage." As summer fog rolls into our own coastal Victorian city, Open Season is a perfect complement.