Old Sea Brigade - S/T (Self-Released)

Old Sea Brigade is the solo project of Ben Cramer. After years of demos and various endeavors, he finally sat down with producer Jeremy Griffith, and recorded the basic structures of the five songs on his new self-titled release in just five fortuitous days. With every instrument played by Cramer, the EP is truly a personal and heartfelt record. The arrangements are bare with some wonderful production tricks and layering, but as Cramer states, “We wanted to make sure the core of each song shines through the most. The most important aspect of Old Sea Brigade is songwriting.”

The songs here are more impressionistic and evocative than anything concrete, like traditional pop songs blowing gently by you on a passing breeze. His style of folk goes all the way back to the inimitable Nick Drake, but there is more of a lurking sense of cautious optimism on songs like “Better Days,” and “Love Brought Weight.” Like a painter with a light touch, Cramer’s lyrics have a fantastic ability to cast fleeting yet powerful imagery onto the walls. With any luck, there’ll be a lot more from Old Sea Brigade to come, and expect the EP to be released soon.