THE SEA NYMPHS

It is a great pleasure for me to see the Sea Nymphs on the Archives. A rather strange and intriguing project, the Sea Nymphs consist of three past and present Cardiacs members: Cardiacs leader Tim Smith, former Cardiacs sax player Sarah Smith (formerly Tim's wife, now known as Sarah Cutts), and former Cardiacs keyboard genius William D. Drake. The album itself is a strange monster. A wonderful floating creature coming to bless your heart with a dose of beautiful and touching melodies which are very Cardiacs, but the sound is completely different. Gone is the punky headbanging of Cardiacs epicness, and more prominent the folky and very Anglo-Saxon sound (it just sounds English, you know what I mean). And so you here also find something for someone who really can't stand the insane barrage of sound Cardiacs but is intrigued by the beautiful melodies hidden in between (like me own papa for example).

The album is comprised by a bunch of random recordings done by our lovely folks, but it slides from song to song in rather dashing way. The very atmospheric and rather unsettling aura is kept throughout the whole albums and is the mood is very cloudy and and winter- ish. You feel like they played this in a forest in a random October morning.

Highlights: The folky pan flute fun of Nil in the Nest, Lucky Lucy and its shimmering keyboards, The mesmerizing and sobering Up In Annie's room, which feature Tim Smith's greatest lyrics in my honest opinion, the truly wonderful and mind blowingly beautiful The Psalms Of Life, the glorious piano fun Of Dog Eat Spine, the chilling instrumental Sarah On A Worm, Lily White's Party and its glorious sing along fun, and the mystic, emotional joy of Abade, beautifully sung by Sarah Smith.

The sound is mainly focused on eerie keyboard effects and beautiful vocals, without really any percussion or drums except for Abade. The songs tend to be rather simple in a technical sense but Tim Smith being the master mixer and producer he is manages to bring the complex arrangements to the forefront and deliver a immersing experience. William D. Drake's piano lines are always such a treat to hear that every time I hear Dog Eat Spine I get a huge smile on my face!

For every fan of Cardiacs should without a doubt hear this album. Unfortunately at the moment it is almost impossible to get any physical copy, or a digital copy! I hope for people that Alphabet Business Concern picks up again after Tim gets better, so people will be able to get their hands on it. For now if you manage to get a copy consider yourself lucky! And hang on to it! Not only is it quite the rare album, but the music is also rather excellent.

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