Seasonal - Letters Of Resignation

​Seasonal

​Letters Of Resignation
self-released; 2015

3.6 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Seasonal is a band from Norman, OK that recently released Letters of Resignation. The band implement some very unique ideas on the album but they doesn’t always land. They are the type of band that if they continue to refine and make adjustments could really be onto something. 

The singer choses to deliver his vocals in a myriad of different ways. Some of it works and others times it’s off by a couple of degrees. He sometimes doesn’t hit the right note and sometimes gets away with it. The music ranges from heavy post-rock not too far off from Deafheaven to indie rock to other one offs.

They start off with a spoken word piece entitled “This Empty House” which is the most experimental song on the album. The band goes into some adventurous area and the vocalist is at his best on this track.

The first part is straight up ominous sounding. I dug it. The mix of orchestral strings and synths was a dark mix. Once the first change comes in a little under a minute I thought the juxtaposition was effective. 

Up next is “Sleeping Off the Storm” which is completely different sounding than the opener. The music is on point. I was enjoying the vocals and style he initially starts with which sounds good on him. Once he goes into aggressive, angry mode it doesn’t work out as well. The music gets intense in classic post-rock fashion towards the end. “Colossal” is another intense heavy song that has its moments. The vocals initially don’t hit the tone he is striving for. Once the vocals get to around the two-minute mark it starts to work. 

“Evelyn McHale” is a success. I loved the light music here. Again the vocalist is hit or miss. Some notes are so off key I couldn't get past them but he pulls off this talking/singing style that works better. ”Prelude To a New Dream” is a solid closer which plays upon the group's strengths.

There is such a thing as attempting too much as a singer and that's what I thought was the case. Instead of zeroing in on one natural style he attempts many and occasionally sounds hyperbolic. My advice to the singer would be to get back to basics and focus on delivery - dynamics, tone, etc. I really think with a little more practice the tweaks he needs could come to fruition. 

Letters of Resignation sets a solid foundation for this band. They still have some work to do to compete with some of the best music coming out today but certainly have potential.

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