Seabright / Shimmer
Label: Lazy Calm Records

Allie F
Reviewed 2011-03-06

Solo project of Justin Morales from San Jose. The easy listening ranges from mellow Post Rock and Psych to funky Electronic Pop to Minimal ambient slash random noise… in a good way. Singing is used judiciously. When used, it’s delicious. Mostly electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers, drum programming, & samples. Midtempo.
RIYL: Stereolab. Think Passion Pit, toned down like 5 notches.
try: 7, 11, 13, 14
NO FCC Violations

1. Starts with church organ chords. Experimental sequencing. Song meanders around.
2. Only a minute. His singing = super attractive. More please!
3. Peaceful & interesting. Sounds like an electronic ocean.
4. Beautiful piano. building five-note sequence culminates in washy spa music.
5. Words come in 2 mins in! In no-words parts, indistinct squeaks pop in and out of Sims themed music. Ends with real instruments (maracas & bongos?) & beat.
6. Significantly slower, little bit more of a downer.
*7. Words. Laid back. “I wanna be ready” Good.
8. Words @ beginning. Synthesized Electronic a la Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek.
9. Nice synthy beat. Sporadic laser noises. It’s a toe-tapper. Loses beat and throws us a barrage of crazy sounds towards end.
10. There’s sweet drum-set use! Almost Passion Pit-ty, minus the whole singing part. The last 40 seconds is all just distorted noise, may want to fade out.
*11. Mellow oohs and ahs over guitar strumming and synths. Definitely fitting to its title “Summer Voltage.”
12. Words, Echoes and reverb, Synths and nice sequencing. It’s pleasant. Provides a nice set-up for the awesome next two songs.
**13. Clever. Barely distinguishable at beginning is old-school sound of someone on the radio. Builds to awesome beat. More than being just a head-nodder, it’s a smile-inducer. “Aa-a-ahhhs” on top of music in attractive ways a bit in middle.
*14. Beat begins catchy like “Footloose” movie’s title song. Has most words out of all songs. Diff’t from CD’s earlier Mellow Ambient songs. Ends w/ guitar playfulness.