Sonic Sea is a 60-minute documentary about the devastating impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life. The film begins with a mystery: the unexplained stranding and mass mortality of several species of whales in the Bahamas in March 2000.
Sonic Sea is a 60-minute documentary about the devastating impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life. The film begins with a mystery: the unexplained stranding and mass mortality of several species of whales in the Bahamas in March 2000. As the mystery unfolds, the film explores the critical role of sound in the sea, and the sudden, dramatic changes human activity is inflicting on the ocean's delicate acoustic habitat – changes that threaten the ability of whales and other marine animals to prosper, to function, and ultimately, to survive.
Yellowcard's major-label debut is that rarity in latter-day punk-rock–a nuanced, almost subtle collection of distinctive songs with lyrics sensitive enough to reference moonlight, the ocean, and DEATH OF A SALESMAN, amongst its more usual expressions of post-teen angst. (And, by the way, they also have a violinist.) But, far from consigning them to the ranks of the irredeemably nerdy, OCEAN AVENUE is the sound of a young band flexing its imaginative muscle and emerging from behind the one-sound-fits-all sonic shadow of Green Day to produce a singularly distinctive collection of songs.
Sure, the album's opening salvo "Way Away" is straight out of the SoCal punk rock playbook, but by the shimmering intro to "Only One" it's increasingly obvious that there's more on offer here than one-dimensional posturing. It's not that Yellowcard are any slouches in the sonic thrash department, as evidenced by the breathless rush of "Twentythree"–it's just that they're not afraid to let their strong lyrics and musical smarts speak for them as much as their twentysomething stamina.
2019 marks the 30th anniversary of THE CULT's seminal album "Sonic Temple". To celebrate the anniversary, Beggars Arkive will release "The Cult: Sonic Temple 30" on September 13. It will be released as a deluxe box set and a 5-CD set, plus the label will reissue "Sonic Temple" on double LP, which has been out of print for over 20 years. The sets both contain limited-release demos in addition to previously unreleased tracks.