I heard of Seaweed Mustache‘s return from Philip Brett who tweeted about the release of Bombora. I didn’t realize it had been so long since I heard the band with The Whistle being from 2016. What sticks out about Seaweed Mustache comes from their Bandcamp page: “It’s not Post Rock, Shoegaze, or Punk, but It also contains the unique way of seaweed mustache that contain all of this.”
Bombora’s eight songs are definitely an interpretation of these genres combined into something recognizable but also unique. The main difference that I hear from The Whistle to Bombora is how much wider the soundscape is. Seaweed Mustache doesn’t assign themselves genres as markers, but uses the elements to create an audio universe. “Seaweed Mustang” is like listening to a crashing tide. Each verse flows in and out, clashing at the end of the beat, and washes across your ears.
Shoegaze and post rock themes definitely show up, like ambient melodies sitting at the top with a lot of drum rhythms keeping the tempo moving. Half-time vocals add to the immersion too. My favorite song on Bombora has to be “In the wind.” The almost eight-minute track brings back fond memories of No Respect for Beauty and Modsdive. Seaweed Mustache is taking their time, letting the song simmer, and continually building across each arc of the track. “In the wind” is their calling card and why you should pay more attention.
“My mind” is the “not punk plus shoegaze” track that also might be a good starting point. The one difficulty with Seaweed Mustache is that the vocals are in the middle of the mix so it’s a little difficult to hear unless you really concentrate.
Honestly, I think the less you know what to expect is better when listening to Bombora. If you listen to shoegaze or post rock, you’ll have some expectation of what you’ll hear, but Seaweed Mustache is different. Bombora is a wholly unique interpretation of music composition. It’s got the energy to keep you listening but requires a few rotations to really understand the full compositional picture. Just give it a chance and you won’t be disappointed.
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Chris P
Korean Indie owner and Editor at Large. Constantly looking for new music and working on library parity on Spotify and YouTube Music.