Three Imaginary Girls

Seattle's Indie-Pop Press – Music Reviews, Film Reviews, and Big Fun

There are two integral members in Travel By Sea and they live several states apart from one another. Their recording technique is interesting; they send contributions back and forth to each other via the internet. It sounds like this would cause the finished product to suffer due to a lack of rehearsal or continuity, but it doesn't. The new release, Days Of My Escape, sounds like it was recorded by a band, not just two members and it is a spacious and cohesive record.

On the cover, the word 'vibrato' is prominently displayed and that carefully displayed word describes the shimmering sound that Travel By Sea strives to create. The songs are mostly lonely, alt-countryesque compositions that nonetheless have a warm feeling to them at the same time. Certain groups have the ability to write dejected songs that are reasonably catchy at the same time and Travel By Sea is one of them.

"Let It All Die Down" resonates with dizzying September tones. There are similarities in the music to Son Volt with an arrangement that is led by piano. The vocals are a little more thin though, sounding slightly more anonymous. "When It Slowly Fades" is another song that recalls the acoustic guitar based material of Son Volt crossed with the grungier Sun Kil Moon sound. Singer Kyle Kersten assumes more of a country accent in his delivery as some lowly mixed electric guitar drives the song to more rock oriented depths.

Days Of My Escape is the second album by Travel By Sea and it is a jangling, campfire recording that will keep you company when the winds are howling and the phone is sitting silently on the table next to the half-eaten meal that you did not have the appetite to finish.