Seas Celebrates the Release of Their EPs at Rancho Relaxo

Date of show: July 19, 2012
Written by: Chiara DiAngelo

We managed to make it to The Indie Machine’s showcase at Rancho Relaxo in time to catch headliners Seas. Fronted by Chris “Hippy” Hughes (vocals, guitar) and comprised of ex-members of Moneen including drummer Peter Krpan who also provides backup vocals. With Hughes at the helm, Seas play lo-fi and really quite ambient indie rock with lighter-than-expected vocals, intertwined with some heavier breakdowns that were complete with Hughes’ hippy hair flailing. On this night the band was celebrating the “release” of their EPs. While they technically came out digitally last year, they finally had physical copies available for sale.

To celebrate, the first half of their set showcased material from their EPs, while in the second half they previewed some of the new songs they are currently working on recording. Before making this transition, the crowd yelled for the set to be “louder!,” to which the band joked that they were done with the “Relaxo” part of the set and would now be moving on to the “Rancho” part. The joke was actually pretty relevant and judging from the highlights of what’s to come, their next recording will definitely be something to keep on your radar. Their set came to a close with some of the most intense guitar displayed throughout the entire set.

With the crowd chanting for an encore, the band noted that they had never actually been asked to play another song before and the only other one they knew was on the mellow side. This was no matter to the audience however as they exclaimed “Bring it back to the Relaxo!” And so they did.

While the group is far from a reincarnation of Moneen, they do offer something worth listening to in their own right. And with this many skilled musicians in one band, how could you not check out what they are all about?! You can pick up Seas’ EPs Dreaming and Fragments at their next show, but until then, they are also up for stream or purchase over on their Bandcamp.