Sleepingbagstudios.ca Reviews Play Artful, The Double Headed Seagulls

The Double Headed Seagulls – Play Artful – EP Review

Full disclosure…even though this would technically be my first time reviewing the music of The Double Headed Seagulls, it would be far from the first time I’ve reviewed the music of the man behind it all, Mr. Dave Wirth.  While it’s not something that comes across my desk each and every day, I’ve technically been listening to his music in a variety of forms since sleepingbagstudios was about a year & a half old, and I’ve genuinely cherished it for just as long.  Whether it’s been writing about or playing it on the ol’ SBS Podcast – this dude has been making music that’s been on my personal soundtrack for quite some time now, and I’m grateful for that.  Dave’s also what you’d call a proud, perpetual student of his craft, and one of those folks that’s always looking to be hit where it hurts when it comes to the feedback I provide.  Which, to be fair, you regular readers know that no one directly needs to ask for – I always say what I want to say, however I wanna say…always have, always will.  It just so happens that I tend to enjoy what this dude does for the most part, so he’s generally escaped my wrath throughout the years.  I think it’s basically crazy that this is the third project name I’ve reviewed his music under, which doesn’t count his solo work…so that’s four names you’ve gotta know in order to be able to track him down online and THAT is insane in today’s world for sure…but sound-wise, he’s always created stuff I’ve been interested in and that remains to be true here in the case of The Double Headed Seagulls.  What’s more true than anything else dear readers, dear friends, is that there can be no mistakes when there are no rules.  Sure things will or won’t be accessible based on the decisions someone makes in how they go about creating this or that…but that’s really all there is to comment on when you do your own thing.

So here goes anyway Dave…hope this helps.

With the warm digital glow of “Full Oxford” starting out the EP, I immediately felt like this was going to work out well for The Double Headed Seagulls in its debut.  The low-end that enters into the peaceful serenity is more than noticeable to the point where I suppose a few listeners might find it to be a little jarring when it first shows up, but I think that after you give “Full Oxford” a spin or two, you welcome it.  You’ll spend the opening two minutes in this strange sound-bath of sorts, which essentially serves as the audible amuse-bouche, before The Double Headed Seagulls begins to expand this first idea in the most delightful of ways as you head past the two minute mark into modulating frequencies and malleable sound.  You get the sense that change is coming, which will be welcome for those that were getting a little antsy I suppose.  Honestly, to me, “Full Oxford” felt akin to hearing a great story unfold – I don’t want anyone to rush those situations, so personally I was more than pleased to listen to the opening couple of minutes help build this song’s character and establish its presence.  That being said, hearing how it goes on to morph itself anew was absolutely fantastic…that’s when I guess you’d feel like it was almost difficult to go backwards from there.  Thankfully, that’s not how time, or songs work…we move forward, and the adventure of “Full Oxford” continued to get more and more interesting as it played.  As you trip into its third minute, it’s like you’ve become untethered to float around blissfully in the ether.  When that low-end comes back in minute four, it’s like the warm hug you always wanted to get, and it envelops you entirely as the music supplies a series of enchanting complements along the way.  It all feels new, exploratory, and absolutely beautiful…and by the time it ends, you’ll wish it would never stop.  The amount of work that’s been put in to make this opening song flow so fluidly is absolutely staggering.

What do they call those things in school…when you’re like…supposed to be familiar with something before you dive into something else…or like…at least it helps?  Prerequisites?  Is that the word I’m looking for?  The press release gives you insights into the inspirations for a lot of what you’ll hear on this EP…stuff like Brian Eno, Radiohead, and Four Tet for example…all names I’m intensely familiar with and have celebrated throughout the years on my own playlists over here.  Four Tet alone probably managed to shift my entire musical palette at one point in time long ago.  Anyhow.  I wouldn’t say you NEED to know all those names in order to enjoy what The Double Headed Seagulls is creating – but yes, it helps.  As I listened to the cleverly interlaced percussion of the record’s title track, “Play Artful,” it was like I could hear how each of those influences played a role in paving the way for The Double Headed Seagulls to exist today.  “Play Artful” feels playful…like reconnecting with the joy of discovery and what that’s like to experience when you’re listening to music.  It’s not a moment to take things too seriously, you know what I mean?  Don’t mistake that for a lack of craft…that’s not at all what I’m saying.  What I think I’m getting at more than anything else, is that the music of Mr. Wirth has often come with the weight of heavy emotional elements to it, and there’s something about “Play Artful” that really feels like he was much more focused on just having a moment where he could leave all that behind for a minute or two.  And heck – couldn’t we ALL stand to feel that way for a bit?  When I started to think about it, I wanted to make “Play Artful” my personal anthem for the year…a direct affront to all the bullshit we’ve all been forced to endure through the corruption & erosion of our politics in the modern era.  “Play Artful” gives you the opportunity to close your eyes and reconnect with simpler times, where the joys of finding new music you love, the beauty of the sun above, and the potential of every day was as exciting as it has ever been.  We might not be able to physically go back there anymore, but songs like this can transport you.

You want raw honesty Mr. Wirth?  Here’s some for ya – what’s the point of doing ANYTHING for a minute and twenty-six seconds?  Not just music…I’m talking ANYTHING in life, though I’m more than fine with declaring I’ve always been at war with shorter songs.  I certainly understand all too well what their place in today’s society would be with our ever-disappearing attention spans & all…but I kinda feel like it’s our collective job to rebel against that.  Now…do I like what there is to be heard on “One Pot Screamer?”  Sure!  Does that mean I’m in favor of its appearance in this lineup?  No!  Though to be clear, I’m not ever going to be completely opposed to hearing something I enjoy, no matter how short it is.  Plenty of those influential names we pointed out earlier on in this review all have shorter tracks of their own…it’s a thing…don’t get me wrong, I’m just complaining like an old man on the porch yelling at the state of the world.  Even “Play Artful” was like, right on the borderline of what I’d consider to be a worthwhile venture.  I mean…you should SEE some of the effort that folks like Dave pour into the making of “One Pot Screamer!”  You’d likely assume that a shorter song directly equates to having to spend a whole lot less time twisting dials and knobs to get everything where it needs to be, but more often than not, they’ll end up spending more time in pursuit of perfecting something that’s even shorter than the male orgasm…and that ain’t right, is it?  Shouldn’t we want music to be longer than that?  Shouldn’t it have taken you longer to listen to “One Pot Screamer” than it just did to read about it here?  No issues with what I’m hearing…production-wise, it sounds good…but at 1:26 in total length, it’s also really damn hard to argue that there’s anything so significant to be found here that it’d bring you running back for another repeat too.  “One Pot Screamer” is a quality cut for the length it provides I guess – that’s about the most I can say to support it, and even that seems like it’s as positive as I can be.  As I’ve said many times in the past, if song-length is all you’ve left a critic to pick on, you’re doin’ A-OK.

Alright…rant over…I think I got that outta my system…for now.  “Doss Money” is the final track on The Double Headed Seagulls Play Artful EP, and I’d say this is likely more representative of what I assumed the record would have sounded like, long before I pushed play.  “Doss Money” is like a somewhat logical progression from where we left off with Dave Wirth’s solo music…so this kinda makes sense to me and my ears.  That being said, I think “Doss Money” is probably the most mood-dependent track on the EP, as in, it might not always be the track you’re looking to listen to the most in this particular set of songs.  Again, I’m not opposed to it, and I’d argue that after about four minutes of floating around in a bubble, you finally land with a minute & change left to spare that will reveal all the most significant highlights that there are to be found within “Doss Money” – but overall, I enjoyed it.  This is one of those sit up close and listen, textural & sensory types of songs for the most part…bending notes, resonance and such…more based on how the music moves you, as opposed to the music itself moving in a more tangible way, if that makes any sense to ya.  We’re not so far off the deep end that “Doss Money” would play like a Robert Fripp experiment into Frippertronics, whereby he’ll play one note and let it ring for a half hour while he fiddles with the knobs and dials…nothing that extreme here at all.  I’d probably argue that “Doss Money” is more like what it’s like to hear the art of evolution in real time.  I’m not suggesting that it’s not rehearsed or doesn’t move with purpose – I absolutely think it checks both of those boxes.  I suppose what I’m saying is that “Doss Money” feels gradual and organic, once again unfolding like a great story does, without feeling like it needs to gloss over any chapters along the way.  And while like those great stories we know of, this final cut saves its largest doses of potency and impact for its last act, “Doss Money” ends up developing at a pace that takes a surgeon’s precision & patience, and delivers a conclusion to this EP that will certainly stimulate the curiosity required for you to want to spin it again.

Spotify this EP by The Double Headed Seagulls, or check it out at Apple Music by following this link here:  https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/thedoubleheadedseagulls/play-artful