Out of the wilderness of Wirral come By the Sea with their debut LP. Awash with colorful shards of chorused and reverbed guitars, shimmering and spritely keyboards, and Liam Power’s plaintive breathy vocals, each majestic wave of a song swells, breaks, and spills, sweeping you into the undertow of this very lovely album.
Nick: How long has the band been together?
Danny: The band has been together about 3 years now, i think, although we’ve only been taking it seriously for the past 12 months, since we started making the LP.
N: There’s a lot of seaside imagery in the songs and even an oceanic feel to the music. Does that come from living in Wirral? What’s it like there?
D: The Wirral is an ecologically diverse peninsula to the west of the Mersey river, it’s equally nice and boring. I think the biggest influence is it’s sleepiness- it encourages your mind to wander.
N: How did you end up teaming up with Bill Ryder Jones and how much influence did he have on how the songs turned out?
D: Bill is a good friend of ours who has helped from the start, his influence has been total and his experience has been very valuable.
N: Besides your own, what are your favorite records of the year?
D: Chromatics – Kill For Love
Lower Dens – Nootropics
Julia Holter – Ekstasis
Wild Nothing – Nocturne TOPS – Tender Opposites
N: What are some of your guys’ favorite local bands that you would recommend?
D: Other bands we like from the region are Minnetonka, Two Sunsets, Tear Talk, Forest Swords, Outfit
N: What’s in store for By the Sea in 2013? Any plans to play in the US?
D: 2013 is about making another record and hopefully playing lots of shows. no plans for the US yet but who knows in the future!
For more on By the Sea: https://www.facebook.com/bytheseaband/info
SECRET GIRLS 