Sunken Seas – Wine Cellar November 6, 2015

 

Timing is everything. Fortunately Courtney Barnett’s show at the St James ended with just enough time to make it up Queen Street to catch Sunken Seas at the Wine Cellar. The two acts made for a thrilling double bill on this Friday night in Auckland.

Sunken Seas started out from Wellington, but front man Ryan Harte now makes the City Of Sails his home and so the band has gone though a few changes recently with two new members, guitarist David Provan and drummer Jordan Puryer. Long-time guitarist Luke Kavanagh is still on board and Harte handles vocals and bass guitar duties.

The band’s sound proves difficult to describe. They’ve been called shoe gaze, post-rock, even “hauntological rock”, drawing comparisons to Bauhaus, Bailterspace and Joy Division. Check out The 13^th Floor interview with Ryan Harte and you’ll see that he also cites A Place To Bury Strangers as an inspiration.

This show was in support of their recently-released album, Glass. And like the earlier Courtney Barnett concert, the venue was a topic of discussion as well, with the Wine Cellar having been completely renovated and now with the performance area in a slightly different location and facing the opposite direction of the old room. It was somewhat disorienting, but the new room proved cosy and the sound was excellent, with Sunken Seas putting it to the test with their loud, dissonant sound.

When the band took the stage, Harte was in the centre, flanked by the two guitarist with drummer Jordan in back.

They opened with Asylum, the first track on their 2013 EP Cataclysm with Harte’s plodding bass line leading the way. The drums quickly fell in and then the guitars came in, creating what can best be described as sheets of sound. Harte’s vocal evolved from a laconic drawl to a howl as the music swirled around him.

Next came Clear, from the new album, complete with big, crashing guitar chords and a creepy, Bauhaus-like vocal, with Harte intoning, “I can’t see clear”.

Paid Your Price began with a dark, rumbling guitar and then exploded as Ryan sang, “You’ve paid your price!”

After a bit of banter with the crowd, Ryan dedicate the quiet, delicate Scarlet to someone named Joel and that tune segued into the propulsive Crane Of Foil which rocked the new room quite nicely.

An intriguing cover of Massive Attack’s Rush Minute followed and then, with the crowd buzzing, Harte announced a new tune, Earth Monkeys as the last song.  This one featured a haunting vocal from Harte his bandmates.

For an encore, they served up Metasoma featuring an intimidating bass line and pounding drums…it felt like the second coming of Godzilla.

Clocking in at just 40 minutes, the set was truly breath-taking, proving that Sunken Seas are one of New Zealand’s finest musical treasures.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Isaac Newcombe:

Sunken Seas set list:

1. Asylum
2. Clear
3. Paid Your Price
4. Scarlet
5. Crane Of Foil
6. Rush Minute
7. Earth Monkeys
8. Metasoma