The next time he’s in the shower, Chris Martin may want to take an extra minute to check his family jewels, because it sounds like his left nut has gone off and made itself an album. On its full-length debut, ’Til We See the Shore, Seabird presents itself as an incredible facsimile of Coldplay, copping every facet of their sound – swirly guitars, pensive keyboards, melancholy vocals – and adding nothing of their own, except perhaps the vaguest of CCM overtones. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being Coldplay for the Christian set, of course – just as there’s no crime in swinging for the fences with press kit quotes like “We hope this record will be an oasis for those who were left thirsty by years of heartache.” But dammit, if you’re going to swing for the fences, you’d better at least be holding a bat – not depending on such unintentionally hilarious couplets as ”So put this steak on your eye / It’s much better for you than rice / It’s your bread, water and rice.” It’s all very pretty, of course, but even on your debut, you’ve got to hope to provoke something more than unfavorable comparisons to Keane. (Credential Recordings 2008)
