MP3 Solomon´s Seal - The Sea, The Sea

Reminiscent of the intimate, introspective song-writing and finger-picking of Seventies English folk icons such as Nick Drake and John Martyn, but with a Badly Drawn Boy twist.

11 MP3 Songs in this album (40:13) !
Related styles: FOLK: Alternative Folk, FOLK: British Folk

People who are interested in Elliott Smith Nick Drake Badly Drawn Boy should consider this download.


Details:
For the last ten years, Simon Pettyâs husky vocals led the Los Angeles based English quartet Minibar. On indefinite hiatus after the release of Desert After Rain, Petty turns to The Sea, The Sea for his solo debut as Solomonâs Seal. Produced by Seth Rothschild, the disc will be released on June 2, 2009 independently and celebrated with a CD release show at Largo on Friday, May 29th.

The signature dusty Americana of Minibar has given way to a sound more in the English folk tradition of Nick Drake and John Martyn. Rothschild's production is beautifully sparse, allowing the finger-picked guitar and wistful vocals to shine.

Petty adopted the moniker Solomonâs Seal, a member of the lily family that was believed to have healing characteristics. The name's origins come from the Seal of Solomon, an enigmatic symbol used in ancient Islam to ward off evil spirits that then became, of all things, the Star of David.

Full of such paradoxical imagery, The Sea, The Sea is a cathartic release for Petty. The disc takes its title from the Iris Murdock book about the strange obsessions that haunt a playwright and director as he withdraws from the world to a house by the sea to write his memoirs. Much like the novelâs protagonist, Petty finds the sea, âa soulful place, a place of healing that I find myself returning to.â Throughout the eleven tracks, âsubconsciously it became a recurring theme,â he explains.

Inspired by a midnight swim, âDiamond In The Sandâ describes two lovers looking for a lost ring at the bottom of the ocean. âI Built a Fireâ begins "I'm lying wide open on the high tide line, left by the ocean, abandoned by the tide...", as if the singer were just driftwood on the shore. In one song, Petty describes his life as being lived "on a part of the river that flows away from the sea", all of which adheres to a common thread of searching for redemption and resolution by taking the path less traveled.

Solomonâs Seal has a standing Saturday night residency at Largo, the next being the release party on Friday 29th May.