Nestled in cottonball snow, Sea Shrine’s debut cassette tape lines up its eight cozy cuts like collectible ceramic tudors on the bookshelf, displayed to ring in the Christmas season. True to its name, The Storefront EP glows with the quaint festivity of a department store window display from some bygone era, knotted with the tracks of an electric train set and populated with animatronic elves.
The West Virginian solo outfit’s songcraft hearkens back to the idyllic jangle of The Field Mice, blended with organ swirls and filtered vocals indebted to innumerable mop-headed boy bands from the 60s. “Soft Alarm” and “Cross Your Eyes” showcase Sea Shrine’s penchant for reverb-tinted power pop, highlighted by ambling instrumental ventures like “Fanfare” and “Realistic X’s”: folksy blends of synth-pop and melodica that resemble an Eno-esque take on the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon soundtracks.
Fresh-baked and slicked with margarine, The Storefront is as conducive to browsing an antique store or bakery as PC Music is to the mall — hella whimsical.
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