BEARSUIT RECORDS PRESENTS...THE INVISIBLE AND DIVIDED SEA: CONFLICTING SOUNDS FOR CONCEALED EMOTIONS

I have come to discover and adore a new, eclectic, musical mix, thanks to Dave Hillary of Edinburgh, Scotland’s Bearsuit Records. The album is entitled The Invisible and Divided Sea. In atmosphere, it more than lives up the its title, invoking conflict, despair and in spite of such, the release of pent-up euphoria.

As with other such experimental music, The Invisible and Divided Sea exploits its irony to the fullest degree. In fact, it's on the same imaginative par as Bedtime for Robots’ Filthy Gods in the Age of Exquisite Machines (see Oct '17) and Mangabros’ Deepfleshred (see Nov '17). In the case of The Invisible and Divided Sea, however, the inherent tension stems from the terrestrial here and now, grazing upon the social auras and stark injustices that most mainstream sources avoid. These raw gems are romanticized to the point where the listener feels nice and snug within the doleful confines.

The Invisible and Divided Sea’s varied artists establish the thematic flavor and include such expressive (and world-blanketing) performers as Alexander Stordiau (Belgium); Steeples for People (UK); PoProPo (Germany); Harold Nono (UK); Ullapul (France); Kirameki (Japan); Yponomeutaneko (France); Annie and the Station Orchestra (UK); Shinnosuke Sugata (Japan); The Moth Poets (UK); Petridisch (USA); Swords Reversed (UK); and Manga Brothers/Mangabros (UK).  

Some entries feel Cajun-influenced, though not without an ample seasoning of Asian spice. Some contain cranking, circus-like chords: ideally geared for a globetrotting, hobo/tramp lifestyle. (Think Jimmy Webb’s “A Tramp Smiling” or John Hartford’s “Gentle On My Mind”, though reinterpreted as a jazzy form of Tangerine Dream.) Other tracks insinuate breakdowns, slippages and unfulfilled yearnings, capped and soothed by mechanical pings and fits of rebellious, vocalized inebriation. In other instances (particularly with the Mangabros entry), we're welcomed into a numbing, hymn-like trance, with our sorrows and joys scattered shamelessly before us. (We did what we could, and now refuse to lament it, proud of what we've endured, even in defeat.) 

Perhaps what I find most remarkable about The Invisible and Divided Sea is the way its compositions can so easily saturate the consciousness and influence varying, emotional states. 

My initial listen was during early morn, when my mind was yet muddled with anxiousness. At that point, the tracks’overall impact appeased my unrest, much like a sad song makes one feel less alone. After the work day, I found the same tracks coddling my rising relief, reminding me that, despite the roughness I had faced, I had become (to paraphrase Nietzsche) all the stronger for it. And with a much later listen (in the pit of the nocturnal hours) I faced slumber with a sense of focused preparation for whatever might come the next day: good or bad, divided or undivided, visible or invisible.

The album’s success, therefore, lies in its many vantages: a unique, morphing, vagabond path that’s scary, seductive, psychoanalytical and therapeutic to the ears.

I encourage you to explore Bearsuit's latest concoction, if only for its essential, self-discovery properties. Its symbolic hills and valleys will act as faithful companions to your daily routine and maybe somewhere in the surreptitious scheme, open your eyes--and emotions--in ways you never before believed.

The Invisible and Divided Sea is ready for download at …  https://bearsuitrecords.bandcamp.com/album/v-a-the-invisible-divided-sea.