On Play Artful, The Double Headed Seagulls, the project of award-winning film composer and producer Dave Wirth, it’s quite easy to say he’s achieved something rare. This record feels both like a culmination and a fresh beginning. It’s a collection of four tracks, but the experience stretches post-rock, IDM, and jazz for something extremely original and fresh.
From the outset, Wirth’s approach to sound feels tactile. It’s an aesthetic that is at once nostalgic and forward-looking, carrying the warmth of cassette-era experimentation while also embracing meticulous production polish. Listening on headphones (a must!!) reveals the craft at its finest. These sounds flicker and dance across the spectrum where melodies spiral and then dissolve into atmosphere, and the mix never loses its clarity no matter how layered or dense it becomes.
Compared to earlier Seagulls releases, which leaned toward darker and noisier territory, this record thrives on lightness. For us, it sort of felt Radiohead-esque in some ways without ever feeling derivative. Instead, Wirth builds his own universe, one where jazz chords float weightless against buzzing synths and fractured electronics, where propulsive beats can suddenly melt into ambient pools.
On one hand, it’s an intellectual delight. You can dissect the layers of production, trace the genre-bending experiments, and marvel at the intricate sound design. On the other, it’s deeply affecting on a visceral level, as the melodies and tonal choices cut through with warmth and immediacy. Even at its most abstract, Play Artful radiates accessibility and really gives the opportunity for repeated listens and experience what you might have potentially missed.
There’s also a cinematic quality to the work that embodies Wirth’s film composer background. Each piece feels like a scene in an unfolding dream, full of color and texture, each transition handled with an editor’s sense of pacing. Despite that polish, nothing feels too controlled. The music retains a looseness, a spontaneity that makes every detail feel discovered rather than engineered. You never really know where things are going, especially on “One Pot Screamer”, but collectively the whole record gives off the perfect experience.
It’s a masterclass in how to push the boundaries of genre while keeping the listener grounded in melody and mood. Both lush and spacious and classic in its influences, this is a record that rewards an actual close listen while turning off life around you.
For listeners, it’s an invitation into a world that feels strangely familiar yet endlessly surprising. Not only do we recommend you check out the record, but you have to check out the back catalog as well for some serious gems. Go ahead and click those links below to listen in, follow along, and of course to stay tuned for more.
