Two If By Sea Premier

The calendar has hit September and that means that fall is upon us. It also means that new music is starting to make it to our favorite stores. One such release is Safety by Baltimore band Two If By Sea. It will be released by Washington, DC based indie Silverthree Sound Recordings on October 17.

Two If By Sea formed in 2001. Their debut Translations, followed in 2004 and received a lot of praise in the Northeast. On the road, they supported artists such as Secret Machines and We Are Scientists. Now, they are back with Safety and they're ready to conquer the world.

I received a finished copy of this disc early last week and was able to listen to it several times. The three things that stuck out to me the most, were Cris Cowan's voice, how tight their sound is and how out of place they sound in Baltimore. Cris's voice is deep and dramatic and it always stands out. Musically, I was blown away by how sharp they were. Their music has a lot of layers and the instrumentation is fantastic. It is obvious that they have been playing together for 5 years. On this album, they further expand their sound by making use of orchestration. I am not going to attempt to label them. The only thing that I will say, is that they would sound more at home in England than Baltimore. It is apparant that they use their influences (Echo, Psych Furs, The Cure, etc) as a guide and expand their sound from there. As tight as they are as a band, their success lies in how receptive their audience is to Cris's voice. It stands out in a such a way, that it is a major definition of their sound. Personally, I think they will do fine.

In addition to their release in October, they will have two cd release parties. The first one is September 9 at The Ottobar in Baltimore. They will be joined by locals The Oranges Band and The Whigs from Athens, GA. Additionally, all artists that performed on this album will be part of the show. On September 23 in DC, they will be having a dual cd release party at DC9 with The Hard Tomorrows. After the official release, they will embark on a US tour. Dates are still being finalized, so check myspace for the latest details. Definitely check out their live show. This album was made for that setting.

On a final note, guitar player David Hardy kindly offered me the opportunity to premier any track of my choosing. The track that I picked is fantastic and shows off the orchestration that they used on this album. In addition, I am offering 3 demos from the new album and a track from their debut. The finished versions sound a lot better than the demos, but they offer a nice preview. Enjoy this and support them while they are on the road.


White Zin on-ice (Safety, 2006)
This Will Hurt Someone (from Translations, 2004)
Report From Damage Control (Safety demo)
Million To One (Safety demo)
Mont Blan(k) (Safety demo)