On their sophomore album, 2015's
Colour Blind, Canada's
Seaway make exuberant, guitar-driven punk-pop that's both super catchy and fun, and also earnestly passionate. Which is to say that, while the Ontario five-piece aren't overly serious here (there are no political rants), lyrically, they lean more toward the emo end of the punk spectrum with songs about screwed up relationships, lost love, and past mistakes. As they sing on "Best Mistake," "Sunday morning, and I feel sorry about the pieces of me that I left at your house/Down on my luck, my mind was anxious and you made me face it with your lips on my neck and a taste from the bottle." That song, as with most of the cuts on
Colour Blind, showcases
Seaway's knack for nicely contradicting some of their darker lyrical themes with a driving beat and soaring melodic chorus that grabs your attention and begs you to sing along. This anthemic quality is reinforced by the band's distinctive use of double-lead vocals shared between singer Ryan Locke (the sweeter, more resonant one) and guitarist/singer Patrick Carleton (the more robust, throatier one). While the two-singer punk band isn't exactly a rarity, what is rare is to find one where both vocalists actually sing -- usually, one of the leads is just there to scream. Thankfully, Locke and Carleton are well-matched with ringing, resonant voices they use to superb effect throughout the album. It also doesn't hurt that
Seaway know how to structure a song to deliver maximum dramatic tension and release. Cuts like "Trick (So Sweet)" and "Turn Me Away," with their palm-muted guitar riffs, cut-time into double-time drum parts, and harmonized vocals make for spine-tingling pop. Similarly, the euphorically romantic "Airhead," with its chunky,
Weezer-esque guitar riffs and swoony, thematic refrain of "so tie me to your fingertip so I don't float away," is a late album stand-out that speaks to the overall depth of quality and pure listenability on display on
Colour Blind. [
Colour Blind was also released on LP.] ~ Matt Collar