Helio Sequence, The

Music for when a lake beckons. Lyrics deal mostly with frustrated heartbreak. Lots of nice basslines and strong vox with an accent I’ve never quite heard before. Gently chiming guitars, mostly electric, one song with acoustic. Largely mid-tempo, breezy tracks that don’t redefine the band’s aesthetic, as self-titled albums are wont to do, but continue it safely and unadventurously.

RIYL: Sea Wolf, Rogue Wave, early Death Cab for Cutie
Favorites: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
FCC Clean

1. (4:21) Battle Lines - Rumbling bassline. Chiming, jangly guitars. Repetitive lyrically. Mid-tempo.
*2. (3:20) Stoic Resemblance - More up-tempo. Kind of a chill jam, Helio style. Ostensibly existential lyrics about redemption and reality.
*3. (4:13) Red Shifting - Mid-tempo. Repetitive lyrics about letting it bleed. Gorgeous, subtle electric guitar that paces along steadily. Drumming is prominent and meshes nicely with the bassline. Chiming guitar solo starts ~2:40 and goes for around 30 seconds.
*4. (3:53) Upward Mobility - More emotive, powerful vocals. Multiple layers of rushing, colorful guitars and gliding keyboards.
*5. (3:13) Leave or Be Yours - Mostly a guitar melody with some ambient sounds and a subtle, groovy bassline. Ethereal vocals that often hold back to let the guitars shine.
*6. (3:42) Deuces - Faster drumming. Soft, gently piercing electric guitars. Strong vocals and lyrics dealing with loss of love. Brief guitar solos interspersed throughout. DJs take note: starts fading out ~3:15.
7. (2:39) Inconsequential Ties - Folkier. Acoustic guitars and what sounds like tambourines.
*8. (2:52) Seven Hours - Melancholy. Lyrics about yearning for an unattainable beloved. Gentle, twinkling guitar melody. Fluttering synths that come in and out and enhance the ethereal vibe of the track. Gorgeous.
9. (3:34) Phantom Shore - First 0:50 is an ambient melody with lots of distortion. Bass and vocals come in. Dark, mysterious, anguished. Lyrics about dreams and things beyond one’s reach - a “phantom shore”. One of the better tracks lyrically. Lots of instrumental passages. ~2:25 during an instrumental break, instrumentation and later vocals become more aggressive and impassioned.
10. (3:56) Never Going Back - Atmospheric. Simple lyrically. Skippable.