''Sea of Worry'' is the third studio album by American band

Have a Nice Life Have a Nice Life is an American post-punk band founded in Connecticut in 2000 by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga. History Have a Nice Life was formed in 2000 by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga of Connecticut. They have mentioned the likes of My Bloody ...

, released on November 8, 2019, on

the Flenser The Flenser (also known as Flenser Records) is a San Francisco-based record label specializing in experimental music. Notable bands that work with or have worked with The Flenser include: Have a Nice Life, Botanist, Deafheaven, Wreck and Refe ...

. It is their first album to feature a full band.

Background and recording

The album was announced by the band in August 2019. Shortly after the announcement, on the 27th, the band released the title track as a single. Three other singles were released in advance of the album: "Lords of Tresserhorn", on September 17th; "Science Beat", on October 15th; and "Dracula Bells", on November 7th. Two of the tracks, "Trespassers W" and "Destinos", were re-recorded versions of songs that appeared on their 2009 compilation album ''Voids''. Dan Barrett had been working on producing "Destinos" by 2006 at the latest, according to a blog post.

Musical style

The album has been described as more straightforward and accessible than the band's previous two LPs. Similarly, it is significantly more polished and has higher production quality, a departure from the band's typical lo-fi sound. The album takes influence from several genres, varying from track to track. Songs like "Sea of Worry", "Science Beat", and "Dracula Bells" have been compared to

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

, new wave, and

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

. "Lords of Tresserhorn", according to Marika Zorzi of New Noise Magazine, "seamlessly blends their sweeping

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

sound" in a way reminiscent of their earlier releases, while Bill Peel of ''Kill Your Stereo'' noted a

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

influence. The album also features an instrumental track: "Everything We Forget".

Album themes

Much like the band's previous releases, many songs feature lyrics about depression. Moreover, several songs discuss religion, particularly

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. "Dracula Bells" and "Trespassers W" both feature lyrics critical of the religion, while ''Destinos'' begins with a recording of a preacher lecturing about God sending sinners to hell. The name of the track "Lords of Tresserhorn" is a reference to

Magic: the Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

Critical reception

The album was praised by Aristocrazia Webzine, who wrote that "being sad has never been so beautiful." Other outlets that gave the album positive feedback include

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

, Spectrum Culture, and

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

. The release was panned by

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

, calling it "predictable".

Track listing

{{track listing , all_writing = Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga , total_length = 46:19 , title1 = Sea of Worry , length1 = 4:40 , title2 = Dracula Bells , length2 = 7:44 , title3 = Science Beat , length3 = 5:35 , title4 = Trespassers W , length4 = 4:49 , title5 = Everything We Forget , length5 = 4:12 , title6 = Lords of Tresserhorn , length6 = 6:07 , title7 = Destinos , length7 = 13:12

References

2019 albums Experimental rock albums The Flenser albums