Southeast Engine - From the Forest to the Sea

From the Forest to the Sea is a beautifully complex record of soulful, bluesy roots music that is as haunting as it is moving. The disc begins with a three track, 10 minute spirit-filled suite that sets the mottled tone for the rest of the album. Weaving dark moods and feelings of isolation in with the band's jangle rock serves to convey the complexity of the human condition and spirituality. While much of the album deals with divinity, it more from the perspective of a mortal succumbing to his own earthly desires and the personal growth that comes from realizing that living the American dream leads to a hollow existence compared to one's relationship with a higher power. Tracks 4-10 lead us down this hard-learned path of discovery on our quest to salvation. Reminiscent of Wilco's more country-tinged songs as well as those of Okkervil River, Southeast Engine is part gut-wrenching and part boot-stomping.


I find it fascinating that the disc was recorded in an abandoned 1800s middle school auditorium in the hills of Stewart, Ohio filled with bats and possibly ghosts, and even more so that such an epic disc only took 5 days to record, doing much of it live straight to analog. Knowing that From the Forest to the Sea was recorded in such a place in the middle of nowhere, far away from cell reception, really gives you an insight into the recording and the nature of the tracks.

Southeast Engine - Black Gold [Download] or [Buy It]

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