The Sea ThievesHiding in the Shade(Pouring Rain Records/Inertia)
Upon hearing the name, The Sea Thieves, images of scurvy-ridden mutineers, craggy pirates, drunken revelry, peg-leg jigs, buxom wenches and other such folly instantly spring to mind. The name alone makes one feel as though they should don a black-eye patch and get stuck into a bottle of cheap rum before letting the ears sup upon this salty offering.
A quick listen to this Adelaide duo and all things concerning a Pirates life are scuttled like a vessel no longer of useful service. The Sea Thieves music is more akin to being the soundtrack for lost a crew of sailors trapped on an eternal ghost-ship at darkest night, endlessly trying to outrace the Sun.
Zac Coligan and Naomi Thompson’s debut effort
Hiding in the Shade is a serenely undulating piece of work that slowly sinks its tender-hooks into the listener and then skilfully reels them in.
Comprised of nine haunting compositions with shared vocal duties,
Hiding in the Shade keeps a steady and delicately plucked acoustic course throughout its 35-minute voyage. Opening track 'The Catcher’s Call' cuts through the water at a gorgeous pace of about 8-knots, followed by 'On The Stairs', which effortlessly fills the sails with a magically restrained gust of tripped-over guitar strumming, stumbling drums beats and Naomi’s softly sung whispers.
On the whole,
Hiding in the Shade is like a battered old wooden ship, dilapidated yet charming. A strange vessel with a leaky hull that has a crew of two and only one teacup to bail out the cold water that slowly fills its rotten belly. A murky and black death awaits at the bottom of the sea, but it will a beautiful death at that.
www.myspace.com/theseathieves Jordan Bloomer