Album Review: Seize Atlantis’ “Ruins Rebuilt”

GLENS FALLS – The latest release from Seize Atlantis, Ruins Rebuilt, which came out June 17^th, features five alternative-rock vignettes that further establish the band’s writing style. Combining elements of acoustic, heartland rock with an edgier, harder electric guitar playing style – all while being glued together by bass and drums – the instrumentation crafted by the band allows the vocals to fit nicely into the mix.

Vocals and an acoustic guitar serve as the beginning to “Hide,” track one. Utilizing a simple chord progression, the song’s intro arrangement gives plenty of room for the lyrics and melody to take on a life of their own. Building, it isn’t long before bass enters the mix, soon followed by drums and backup vocals. At about the halfway point, the song switches from acoustic to a more in-your-face alternative rock tune. Through studio effects, the vocals slowly drift to the back of the mix, as the song degrades – with intention – in sonic quality until the original acoustic feel is introduced just prior to the end of the song.

A funky drum and bass intro start the next song, “I Need It.” When the guitars enter the arrangement, the instrumentation is welcomingly tightened up, and it sounds much thicker overall. The band has a way of getting to their choruses rather quickly, and this is certainly demonstrated on this tune. During its midpoint, the song switches lanes and goes into a brief interlude that is played at half-time, creating a whole new, and much sludgier groove. Following the bridge, audiences are re-introduced to one final anthemic chorus.

The next two songs, “Monster” and “Crawl,” really feature some great bass parts. For the former tune, there’s a really nice fuzz-effected bass part that begins right away and dances throughout. Combining that with the minor second intervals we hear from the guitar, the group has crafted instrumentation that fits the lyrical content quite well.  The latter song has a much cleaner bass tone. There’s a hint of the heartland, with a healthy dose of roots-rock influence heard in the performance. With the vocals sitting nicely in the mix, there’s plenty of room within the arrangement to hear the tasty bass fills, as well as the guitar solo that, while it isn’t blistering, tells an extremely coherent and satisfying musical story.

Finishing the album with “Cosmos” is a standout choice – unlike any other songs on the EP. The vocals are a bit low and hard to make out in the beginning, though, for some, this may draw the listener in more as they try to discern what is being sung. The radio transmission and massive interference heard during the middle of the tune really sets the scene found within the lyrics – someone drifting through the cosmos alone, hoping someone can hear them. The ethos of this track is highly reminiscent of Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”

With Ruins Rebuilt, fans of Seize Atlantis will now be able to get their hands on more of this group’s work, and newcomers to the group will get a chance to hear a writing style that was only strengthened with this new release. To hear this new batch of rock tunes for yourself, check it out here.