Almost five years on from 2017's Let the Dancers Inherit the Party, Cumbria's Sea Power has crashed their way into the Official UK Album Charts at #4 with new album Everything Was Forever. The phenomenal independent record has attracted some of the greatest reviews of the band's storied career, with thunderous sales to match, so we've got some exclusive words from the band at the eye of the hurricane.
Formerly known as British Sea Power, their name change has coincided with a storm of critical reappraisal from music journalists who have repeatedly highlighted the reinvigoration of the group. This new wave of Sea Power has seen the album crash in at #4 on the Official UK Album Chart (surrounded by major label releases) and also chart at #1 on the Independent Chart, #1 on the Physical Album Chart and #3 on the Vinyl Album Chart. The group’s previous chart best was #10 for 2008’s Do You Like Rock Music? “The idea that Sea Power could be the biggest band in Britain no longer requires an overactive imagination or parallel-universe portal" is how Pitchfork have dramatically assessed this uprising. NME declared that the record is a “a brutal but beautiful album that we can all relate to right now” and Brooklyn Vegan opined: "it's their best record since their mid-00’s time... if you haven’t checked in with this band in a while, now’s the time to reconnect".
The record's genesis began with the recording supported by a crowdfunding campaign through the band's website, as Sea Power guitarist Martin Noble recalls: "Just think, this whole album recording was funded by our amazing audience and released on our own little Golden Chariot imprint."
The Sea Power fanbase are a hardcore bunch, galvanised into further action after news of the band's self-proclaimed "remarkable chart incident": "Since we heard the midweek position was #1, the rest of the week has felt like one of those classic David vs Goliath stories" explains Martin. "The last couple of years has been really rewarding for us, winning a BAFTA for our soundtrack to Disco Elysium and now #4 in the UK Album Charts"
"Lovely stuff! We collectively feel like Eddie the Eagle after his best ski jump!" - Sea Power Frontman Jan Scott Wilkinson
Everything Was Forever is Sea Power’s first release through Townsend Music’s D2C Plus model, which we expanded in late 2021 to offer a range of artist services from finance, product curation, campaign management, design, manufacturing, marketing and more. With Sea Power and their management, alongside our label services partners Absolute Label Services and the band's Golden Chariot imprint, we've collectively seen the campaign through from conception to release. Head Of D2C+ Paul Barton recalls setting sail on the journey: "As soon as I heard the opening bars of an early version of ‘Transmitter’ I knew I had to put this record out. The songwriting on this album shows a band at their absolute peak and, in my eyes, Everything Was Forever is already one of the albums of 2022."
On the Sea Power Official Store, exclusive album formats include Yellow Vinyl and cassette, with all pre-ordered bundles coming complete with a (now sold-out) signed art print.
"It’s been an absolute pleasure to be a part of putting this album out and to achieve the best ever chart position for Sea Power; that they are 20-or-so years old and eight studio albums in, it just tells you how great this album is." - Paul Barton, Head Of D2C+ Townsend Music
"It’s been great fun" Martin concludes, "a huge warm thanks goes out to all the fans for the support, it really does feel like one big family effort. Also, we owe a big thanks to the team who have helped release this record too: Townsend Music, Absolute Label Services, Proper Distribution, Kevin McCabe, Prescription PR, Pomona, Alan Smith and many others..." And with that, there is no better way to sign off than with the band's rallying cry: "We Are Sea Power!"
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