Morningbell reviewed
Morningbell
Through The Belly Of The Sea
(self)
Whether it’s the first of its kind can be left to the Talmuds. The fact is Morningbell’s third album connects back to those morbid books of yore: Choose Your Own Adventure.
For the record, I was killed after making a single choice (Morningbell don’t reward valor) and let the disc play out in sequence after that. Ultimately the struggle the band face is their own construct: How do you keep people coming back to something so flagrantly novel? For their part, their cool, proggy indie pop takes to the deep-sea scenery well. “The Desert On The Sea Floor” lurks at the bottom with a mild reggae pulse, lost in a krell haze (“The Octopus Walks Across The Coral” and “Interlude” are similarly aquadelic). Judging the music apart from the concept gives an advantage to Morningbell, but in reality the two are joined. And in that union the soundtrack fails to measure up: What you read in the liners would amount to an exhausting journey, whose stress alone could crush you before the water pressure. Back on land, Morningbell laze along, either incapable or unwilling to make a daring choice.
— Kevin Keegan
Click here to download “Lost Again.”
