Sometimes it’s highly beneficial to just take a pause in life, the banal tasks that need to be completed should be ignored or procrastinated on, and the mental pace that brushes off from rushing passers-by be blanked out. The absolutely perfect situation to lose one’s self and extract reality from the mind for 27 minutes is the Unfound EP by collaborative group Winter At Sea. Folk brushes post-rock and tips it into neo-classical with minimalist rich music which amplifies the volume as it envelops the mind. Give it time and space and the benefits are exponential, you can still enjoy this without all that relaxing but really, you deserve this break as so does Winter At Sea.
Listening to these four tracks sends images into my mind through the mix of live recording of piano, guitar, percussion and synths. The music is captured beautifully, the warmth and slow pace send my imagination into making a video which is a close up of something with the scale removed but with a sense of magnitude that still overwhelms. Like a plane flying through the sky or a rocket going to space, the condensation trails lapping from the engine and endless sunshine twinkling off the camera lens. The clouds tell you the object is moving but apart from that everything seems still as the focus moves with the rocketing machine in the sky. Much like the songs, when focused in you get a sensation that there is great movement but I feel like I am floating and drifting rather than travelling a vast distance. Each song is minimal but the impact and movement is vast.
‘Unfound’ and ‘Unfound I (piano)’ have a beautiful synergy whilst offering opposite sides of the scales. The former has those twinkles of early Mono when they are laying the ground before the earth shakes it. Winter At Sea is more than accomplished at just staying in those calmer moments and producing hairs raising sounds without a distorted explosion. ‘Unfound I (piano)’ features some sensational vocals and piano by A.L. Lacey which builds on the collaborative approach of Chris Chapman and Will Tomlins (guitarists from Flies Are Spies From Hell) which is reaping such great rewards.
Closer ‘When Your Fingers Touch Mine Through A Sleeping Mist’ is equally as epic and just as devastating in impact. The four tracks here really deserve some tender attention to really allow them to be impactful, that’s no slant on the music more on those that can’t get the time. With a wonderful physical offering from A Cheery Wave Records and beautiful screen printing by Richard Knox this complete package is one that can not be missed by fans of post-rock of any kind.
