- Seagull is the creation of Melbourne singer-songwriter Chris Bolton. An alt folk outfit that has been around for almost a decade and a half now, the project has become known for Botlon’s emotionally rich story-telling and detailed, atmospheric instrumentation. The typically melancholic mood of Seagull’s music is amplified on their new record, A Voice in the Ward, which Bolton penned a lot of the lyrics for while in a psych ward.
He explained the album is “concerned with the thin line between insanity and epiphany” … and “vision and hallucination”. Oftentimes throughout the album, there is a prominent juxtaposition of debilitating mental illness and an internally manifested spiritual transcendence, and there’s a strong train-of-thought nature to the way Bolton approaches detailing this. The result is a gripping, albeit haunting exploration into some very intense themes.
For the most part, the songwriting is put at the forefront on this record, with a lot of the timid and minimalist vocals and instrumentals recalling the likes of Mount Eerie and Elliott Smith. The two outliers are the tracks I Found One Thing and Mercury.
I Found One Thing is largely structured around a trudging guitar line and wailing, siren-like synths. The track builds in urgency as Bolton begins to really place the aforementioned themes under the microscope. On one of the more disturbing parts of the album, he sings: “All day long I hear the doctor tell me about my immaculate health / Not a doctor with a medical degree or with blood tests or referrals / A real doctor / My doctor.”
Similar unease comes through on Mercury. The instrumentals give this sense of a frail mind being melted away, as a viola and synths creep behind a slow-burning, grungy riff. Both tracks are undoubtedly highpoints of the album, but that’s not to say the more timid tracks are disappointing.
Softer cuts like the album-titled A Voice in the Ward and the eleven-minute Inside of a Bell are worth their weight in gold. Quite often these tracks give off this vibe of Bolton recounting scattered thoughts from a diary. It really puts emphasis some of the feelings of isolation and despondence Bolton felt at the time of writing. Another benefit of this more subdued approach to instrumentation is that the minimalism allows some particularly beautiful viola and synth moments to jump out.
Bolton describes this album as a “record of an intense experience and a document of the recovery from it,” and one of Bolton’s great strengths as a musician is his unabashed honesty. He never attempts to assuage the emotional significance of an event, which is another comparison that can be drawn between Chris Bolton and the likes of both Mount Eerie and Elliott Smith. On this record, he approaches themes many artists would leave untapped. This, combined with his ability as a wordsmith and some inspired instrumental arrangements, results in an oftentimes confronting, yet hypnotic and powerful, collection of songs.
- Jack Jones.