Signal Fire Nearly a decade after their breakthrough single of “Atlantis”, which has since been streamed more than a billion times, Seafret are back with a great collection of tunes on Fear Of Emotion. Seafret is the duo of Jack Sedman and Harry Draper and they follow up their last record of Wonderland with laser-focused songwriting, soaring melodies, and great instrumentation found on this latest record. Seafret continue to expand upon their humble beginnings as a “mostly-acoustic” project with a full-sounding approach on Fear of Emotion that captivates the imagination of where they can take their sound. Sedman shared, “These last years have just made us more hungry for it again. We’ve put so much work into this new record – we’ve put the time in and we’ve not cut a single corner. It really feels like it’s a fresh new Seafret and we’re ready to go.” With slick production and a sound that strays somewhere between the adult pop of The Fray and X Ambassadors, Seafret have arrived on their vulnerable yet fully-realized vision on Fear of Emotion.
”River of Tears” starts the album off on the right foot with a great groove in the bass line, paired with some thunderous piano strokes, and a great vocal performance from Sedman. As the track unfolds, Seafret’s great combination of vocal harmonies and swooning instrumentation makes for a memorable opening statement. Lead single of “Signal Fire” follows in the sequencing and it reminds me a bit of the sound that American Authors broke through with on their “Best Day Of My Life” single. Seafret commands the song with the utmost confidence and poise as they pick their spots before the anthemic chorus of, “Light up a signal fire / Send out an S.O.S. / When you got nothing left / I’ll meet you there.” The vivid lyrical imagery is well-constructed and meshes well with what the instruments are doing.
”Cloud” begins cautiously with some carefully-strummed acoustic guitar as Sedman ponders, “Are gonna be a cloud in my sky? / Are you gonna be a tear in my eye? / Are you gonna be another drive-by? / Take your shot and I’ll take mine / Are you gonna be the best one yet? / The one that I never regret? / Are you gonna be a book that I read / That I don’t ever want to end?” The great-sounding song captivates the imagination of anyone who takes the time to listen to it, and sounds like a radio hit. More somber songs like “Desert Heart” showcase the vulnerabilities in Sedman’s headspace as he delivers another soulful vocal performance. The steady pick-me-up beat of “Standing By You” recalls some of the best moments of the stomp-clap genre with a style similar to Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers.
”Driftwood” is another significant moment found on Fear Of Emotion as Seafret get some guest vocals from James Morrison in a great collaborative effort. “Five More Seconds” has another great guest feature from KT Tunstall, and the swooning closer of “Nobody Sees Us” rounds out the guest spots with some extra contributions from Katie-Gregson Macleod. Each of these guest collaborations seem organic, never forced, and assist with achieving the lofty goals that the band set out to accomplish on their new record. Seafret remains on top of their game on this album brimming with great songwriting.