Undersea Poem – Self-Titled Album Review

Chris Root and Juju Stulbach have created a self-titled album that entertains better as a whole than as a collection of individual songs. Undersea Poem is truly an indie symphony movement, which serves as a beautiful backdrop, at that.

Initially, I didn’t find anything particularly compelling amidst the inviting sound of Undersea Poem. During one rotation of it, I actually drifted off to sleep. But since then, I have delved deeper into its melodies and textures, and now have a more profound appreciation for the musicianship. Also, I can claim to have a favorite song, “Keep Off The Dunes.” In this song, the guitar tone interacts excellently with both the bassline and vocals, and it even mixes a water ripple sound with a touch of Bernard Sumner (from his Joy Division days).

This album does have subliminal seductiveness. As I mentioned, it peacefully lulled me to sleep one afternoon. It also has a gentle listenability that promises not to overwhelm the circumstances in which it is played. Those factors make it work for both a date night and a dinner party. Lastly, the fluid composition in this self-titled release reflects its overall non-resistant simplicity, whereby Root and Stulbach evince a working knowledge of less being more.

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