Album Review: Sea Girls - Homesick

As a band, the four-piece Sea Girls have always represented fresh, driving, new indie-pop music, with arena-ready fan favourite tracks such as ‘Do You Really Wanna Know.’ Following 3 EP releases, they were shortlisted as part of the BBC’s coveted ‘Sound Of’ award in 2019 and followed this up with their catchy debut album Open Up Your Head, which recently became BRIT certified as a Breakthrough album.

Comprised of lead singer Henry Camamile, drummer Oli Khan, guitarist Rory Young, and bassist Andrew Dawson, the band have created Homesick, which showcases an appreciation for the vibrancy of life and a vulnerability in the wish for belonging.

Showcases an appreciation for the vibrancy of life and a vulnerability in the wish for belonging

At the end of 2021, the band started teasing single releases for their new album, the first of which was the lyrically focused ‘Sick,’ with frontman Camamile calling this the ‘turning point for the new album […] I literally feel myself growing up throughout this song.’ This idea seems to perfectly encompass the new maturity felt throughout Homesick, an album preoccupied with creating confessional narrative stories.

‘Lonely,’ a track which Sea Girls have been performing live since last year on their UK tour, has been proclaimed by Jack Saunders to be BBC Radio 1 ‘Future Sounds’ hottest Record and has quickly become a fan favourite. Alongside this single, the infectious ‘Hometown’ feels to me to be one of the strongest tracks from the new album, which takes this new developed lyricism and narrative storytelling into an arena-setting.

Sea Girls’ focus on relatable lyrics, driving rhythms and a clean guitar sound has pervaded into their newest releases, although seasoned fans will notice a shift towards a more indie, alternative sound over some of their previous indie-pop oriented releases. ‘Cute Guys’ is an example of this change, an experimental, unconventional track which takes you on an unexpected journey from background murmurs and soft guitar chords to big, distorted guitar riffs and shouts.

As a band who have thrived in live performance settings, the tracks certainly lend themselves to being played at full volume, with sing-along-able relatable stories in big rock tracks. A positivity shines through in tracks such as ‘Lucky’ and ‘Friends’ which call you to experience live at its fullest and become moments acknowledging the exuberant craziness of being alive.

As a band who have thrived in live performance settings, the tracks certainly lend themselves to being played at full volume

They have also focused on the emotional weight of the stories they have weaved. Lines such as ‘If you don’t like yourself / I’ll never stop doing it for you’ and ‘rule the world sitting in our bedrooms’ from ‘Paracetamol Blues’ and ‘Someone’s Daughter Someone’s Son’ hit you straight in the chest and make you think back to your own experiences. With a heightened focus on mental health and a bittersweet melancholic view of the world, these tracks feel created for a room full of dancing strangers to connect through music.

Sea Girls have a knack for creating individual tracks ‘again and again’ (to quote the band themselves). Homesick feels full of sleeping giants, whose stories and melodies are sure to sneak up on listeners and get stuck in their heads. Sea Girls have managed to craft a second album whose frank discussions, catchy riffs and driving drums feel catchy and fresh and will get fans excited for their upcoming tour.