Have A Nice Life – Sea Of Worry (2019) – Album Review – Josh Reedy

Have a Nice Life: Sea of Worry – Album Review

My copy: limited press on “coke bottle green” with black splatter by Flenser Records.

In 2019 Have A Nice Life released the identity crisis that is Sea Of Worry, five years after their prior album. It becomes apparent part way through Sea Of Worry that Dan Barrett and company aren’t sure if they still want to be a lo-fi band or not and the whole record feels like a limp attempt at retaining a now decade old sound.

Quiet bass and neutered guitars supply a nervous post-punk energy on the title track with the main redeeming quality being Barrett’s impressive falsetto howls that bring the only memorable melodies to the song. The core problem with Sea Of Worry is clearly the strange production choices, at normal volumes the album is just too quiet and the low ends are barely present. At least on previous Have A Nice Life albums, the guitar was usually abrasive and wide enough to make up for the shortcomings of other instruments.

“Dracula Bells” feels too clean, though the bass does become distorted later in the song. Have A Nice Life seemingly abandons the density they were known for in an attempt to make something more melodic, but the songs lack a level of complexity that is needed to justify this tonal shift. Barrett’s vocals are now carrying the songs, with the occasional synth melody or ambient drone helping to give a slight edge above mediocrity. “Science Beat” is an attempt at something different but ends up feeling like a Black Wing b-side with a processed beat and gentle keys. Guitars eventually unleash triumphant riffs near the end of “Science Beat” but every stand out melody is mixed very low, including the vocal layering.

“Trespassers W” is an ill-suited amalgam of pop-punk and shoegaze, with a bright progression that does not suit the production or style of the rest of the songs; some attempt at moodiness is attempted with a Bloc Party-esque riff but it mostly falls flat. The b-side contains the only explicitly good tracks from the languid ambient interlude “Everything We Forget” which features the best layering on the album to the hissing distortion and lo-fi keys of “Lords Of Tresserhorn,” the latter of which just sounds like a rehashed “Earthmover.” In the second half of this record the production becomes intentionally more distorted and crunchy, but it feels off and as though the band is bastardizing their own debut album.

“Destinos” is a 13-plus minute legacy song that was repurposed for this release and God is it boring. “Destinos” begins with a sample of a pastor discussing the doctrines of Hell which ends up being more interesting than the slow, poorly mixed blend of acoustic guitar and vocals that eventually crackle into heavy drums and bass that are just too repetitive and uninteresting to really be appealing.

Sea Of Worry was a disappointing release from a group that seemingly captured lightning in a bottle with their debut; this is not to say that they are untalented or that Barrett doesn’t have amazing intuition for vocal harmonies and melodies. Sea Of Worry is not offensively bad, rather it is a strangled production that sounds as though its creators are still attempting to make up their minds on how they want to sound. Perhaps with a more focused return, Have A Nice Life could strike gold once again.

This album has many pressings that are pretty easy to get.