Shoe Gazing With Bite
Before grunge got us all dirty and angry, before Britpop swaggered in to ease our minds with lad led shouts, bands were at one with their emotions, boasting dream like instrumentals that caressed and inspired whilst tugging at the heart strings and gaining the unflattering name of shoe-gazing. Sadly though since My Bloody Valentine, Mars Volta and more recently Mogwai, few bands have been able to master this genre with any grace or panache, until that was Sennen came on the scene. Hailing for Norfolk, the four former East Anglia University students have not so much made an inroad into music but have instead blasted a whopping great hole in it and with their latest album, ‘When The Light Gets In’ raising the bar to the heavens, it looks like things have just got a lot more interesting.
Finding the perfect balance between the rough and the smooth, ‘Where The Light Gets In’ bristles with grunge driven distortion that crackles and shunts as it whirlwinds compelling around the softly heart captivating layered vocals. ‘Blackout’ gets things under way to a blistering start as a chugging wave of guitars collides with determined vocals, almost reciting the lyrics until they compound wonderfully into your head. And things don’t let up as ‘Where The Light Gets In’ careens around the soft tenderness of ‘Everybody’s Loss’, the hauntingly engaging ‘Here It Is’ to the pop tinged splendour of ‘A Lifetime Passed’ right down to the post rock frenzy of ‘Fear Home’ complete with its blazing guitars and ferocious drumming, Sennen take you on a journey that gives your ears the full first class treatment. Its ‘Just Wanted You To Know’ where the full force of Sennen is felt though. Escalating from sheer simplicity, the track morphs in a gigantic beast that blasts each ear drum with raging guitars and thumping drums that crash manically before stopping suddenly to be replaced by the gentle vocals of ‘Here It Is’. And herein lays the genius of Sennen. Never trying to throw you over the cliff into a pit of emotional despair, Sennan allow you to sway on the brink; bringing the emotion drenched tracks but giving them all a glimpse of sparkly teeth waiting to bite. Its shoe gazing with some back bone, the type that wants to have an effect on you but also wants you to have a good time and it doesn’t disappoint.
A collage of vibrant sounds that graciously weave their way mesmerisingly into your world, ‘When The Light Gets In’ is a multi-layered wave of richness that will simply absorb you. Breathtaking in its beauty and heart stopping with its passion, Sennen’s second offering is waiting to take you by the hand.