From the beach to the mountains, Seamonster’s Two Birds echoes utmost pleasantries through the audible channel of lo-fi psychedelic folk-pop. Its pop charm is masked by the static white noise of immense distortion, mixed down to a satisfactory non-overpowering level, and warped with the sounds of summertime. “Oh Appalachia” is a beachgoers ode to the mountains. “The Philosophy Of Andy Warhol” will paint a pop-culture picture on the back of your eyelids while you lay, back on grass, facing a clear blue sky.

A rudimentary psychedelic core, Seamonster blends in the perfect amount of experimentation, from noise in “Bearsuit” to the fuzz in the opening instrumental “New England”. There are undeniable pop sensibilities as well; “Annalee” has plenty of vocal pattern hooks that are damn near twee. The EP concludes with the lazy, folk-pop swagger of “These Bones” (a bonus digital-only track), emphasizing the consistent, heavy guitar strum with the fuzzed-out vocals. Backing the song is electronic noise, some of which carries melody, some of which remains chaotic.

There’s no question about it, Two Birds is by far the best single I’ve acquired in quite some time.

Download: “Oh Appalachia” by Seamonster

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Gold Robot Records / Royal Rhino Flying Records [7" EP, 2010]

1. New England
2. Oh Appalachia
3. Bearsuit
4. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol
5. Annalee
6. These Bones (Digital Bonus Track)