Sea for Miles
Reverie
self-released
On the second effort from his “experimental folk” band Sea for Miles, singer/songwriter Matt McInnis makes like a Mainer in the wintertime and gets really acquainted with his living space. Reverie is full of lyrics that would make a realtor cringe. The walls are thin. The roof tiles are rotting. The basement is flooded. The windowpanes have been scratched by Poltergeist branches. These are songs born from having no choice but to sit and ponder the cracks. They’re also shadowed by grief – Sea for Miles’ bassist, Tanner Olin Smith, passed away last September. McInnis dedicated the album to Smith, sharing that his friend’s “sincerity, talent and unique humor will be forever missed.” McInnis, along with his producer/keyboardist/father Michael, has clearly spent long hours in the studio, building soundscapes that do justice to these serious ruminations. The album’s most dramatic moments always seem to have just the right amount of reverb, with just the right synth patch undergirding it. So when McInnis sings, “My fickle fragile mind / My whole anatomy is grieving,” it’s only a few seconds till we hear a reassuring vinyl hiss. Then the tempo picks up, and we’re swept away by the grand “oooooh” of a backing vocal. And we remember that no matter how much of it needs fixing, there’s no place like home.
— Joe Sweeney
