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Lucy Bland

Down to Sea Level

(Self-released; US: 18 Mar 2008; UK: Unavailable)

Seattle’s Lucy Bland soaks up its city’s atmosphere of sea and sky on Down to Sea Level. Cat Biell (vocals, acoustic guitar), Katie Mosehauer (violin, cello), Tim Stedman (keyboards) and Todd Wallar (electronics, guitars) paint the Puget Sound in a watercolor wash of somber strings and rainy refrains. “Blueprints” is the gorgeous centerpiece of this charming album. It’s a cozy afternoon curled up with a cup of tea in a favorite chair by the window, watching the drops cascading down the pane, waiting for the rain to stop. Despite its sometimes cloudy outlook, Down to Sea Level is less a winter storm than a springtime sprinkling; it’s an invigorating, thirst-quenching cloudburst of liquid sunshine.

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Christel Loar is a freelance writer and editor, a part-time music publicist, and a full-time music fan. She is often an overreactor and sometimes an overachiever. When not dodging raindrops or devising escape plans, Christel is usually found down front and slightly left of center stage reveling in a performance by yet another new favorite band.


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