Morningbell

Through the Belly of the Sea: A Choose Your Own Adventure Album

Orange

originally published May 30, 2007

Greater accuracy would lie in calling Through the Belly of the Sea "a set of choose your own adventure liner notes," as that's where the gimmick has to reside, sans narration at the end of each track directing you to go here or there. Still, most of us, lacking the leisure time to nestle into a beanbag chair with a set of big headphones and a Big Gulp to take serious alone-time with Morningbell's new record, may not really pick up on the CYOA aspect all that much. Thankfully, it's not necessary.

Through the Belly of the Sea hangs together aurally, with repeated little riffs that crop up throughout, tying it together in a way that might remind you of how many paths can lead to being killed by a goblin. Or a giant octopus, as this particular book might have it. The seafaring element isn't Decemberists cutesy, but more The Life Aquatic - a little intentionally quirky, but also genuinely so, with a streak of soft, adult sadness running through it. The tunes are fueled by guitars both acoustic (strummy) and electric (with a bit of wail), harmonizing vocals and gentle drums, placing it firmly in the current camp of '70s-revival folk-rock.

Much like the band Midlake, Morningbell is oft compared to the Flaming Lips, but the psychedelic influence isn't technologically flavored or brightly colored, but more like a laudanum haze. The songs may be hard to pick out at first, as the overt cohesion of the album makes 'em run together, but the melodies are nicely done, the idea decently executed. The prettiness, too, especially on the Sufjan Stevens-like "Waiting on a Sleep," is impossible to deny.

Hillary Brown

Morningbell is playing at Tasty World on Friday, June 1.