Quite a lot has changed since we last heard from SEIMS. A life changing amount for certain people in fact, something that Simeon Bartholomew would most probably attest to. The principle songwriter for the Aussie post /math rockers, since the collective dropped their last record four years ago, Bartholomew has become a dad and entered the bewildering, strange but enriching world that is fatherhood.
Now, sometimes this can be a death kneel for musicians; after all, who has time to create central post rock belters let alone anything else when raising a toddler. Thankfully though, not only has such a fate seemed to have bypassed Bartholomew and company, it appears such a life changing event has only energised them even further – rich with both excitement and an evident desire for growth, V may be the most inspired record from SEIMS thus far.
Whilst all previous SEIMS records are products of a self-imposed ethos of ‘to try is to grow’, V sees Bartholomew and company lunge into this album with arms and digits outstretched. But what makes them stick the landing perfectly here is both evident determination combined with the skills they have collectively cultivated across their decade-plus long musical career so far.
‘Chaos Within A Construct’ and its respective interlude ‘Double Standards’ more or less establishes this from the record’s offset, its thunderous post rock brimming with confidence as it flows to and from the jazz inclined math rock sequences that bind the track. However, it’s the proceeding ‘Forever The Optimist’ that serves as the record’s first big, standout moment. Towering and beautifully composed, the track’s optimistic metropolitan post rock harkens And So I Watch You From Afar’s sense of imagination and amazement, something that becomes a defining sensibility that only grows across V’s runtime.
Much akin to the nature of the Northern Irish post rock legends aforementioned, here, SEIMS radiate a level of childlike awe that can only be achieved by hands aged by years of experience. In contrary to the stereotypical perceptions many may hold regarding post rock and adherent genres of its ilk, there isn’t any ashen stoicism to be had here. Instead, there’s nothing but rich imagination that’s realised via left-field creativity and an expanded musical palette that incorporates an array of strings, keys, horns and synths.
Even the two ‘heavy’ (a term used most loosely here) tracks here don’t emit any feelings of danger, with the spindling string and synth menace of ‘Flowing Upstream’ and the synthetic beats of ‘Preoccupations’ – something that sounds like the electronic soundtrack for a Bondi Beach shark attack – being far more exciting than threatening. But nothing realises this sentiment more than tracks ‘Abandonment Is Expected’ and ‘My Memories Retain Nothing’, the latter being a bouncy, mathy, horn enhanced singalong rich with adolescent energy and the former being a tender, quiet orchestral movement that closes with a recording of a conversation between Bartholomew and their young daughter about ice cream. It’s an intimate moment, a quick slice of life, but something that feels incredibly special and fully proves both the charm and key motif of growth that bounds this album.
As the cinematic crescendo of ‘End’s Tether’ melts into the key and sousaphone combination that defines closer ‘A Moment Never Returned’, it’s pretty hard not to fall in love with V, or at least be wholly charmed by it. Equal parts an endearing endeavour to push one’s own musical ability to new levels and a whimsical, wide-angled record in the key of the joys of personal development, here, SEIMS have once again reaffirmed their nature as one of best post rock acts of down under. Australia may be more known on this side of the equator for it’s casual profanity and people using footwear as drinking vessels, but with this album joining the likes of recently released records from fellow countrymen sleepmakeswaves and We Lost The Sea, there’s absolutely no denying that Aussie’s post rock scene is in truly rude health at the moment.