Ravens - A Sea Storm in Heaven

Judging by the title, I’m assuming that Ravens have a fondness for The Verve. I do too, up to but not including the frankly overrated and overplayed Urban Hymns. That band’s earlier work however is excellent and luckily for us its their debut which is referenced in the title of Ravens sophomore full-length release, I personally also recommend 1993’s Voyager 1 EP which was released on vinyl last year and which I was stoked to picked up a copy of on Record Store Day.

In case you weren’t aware Ravens are a relatively new group and are comprised of Zack Kurland (Sweet Diesel, Green Dragon, Altered States) and Chris Daly (Texas is the Reason, 108, Jets to Brazil). A Sea Storm in Heaven is the band’s sophomore release following 2024’s S/T debut and last year’s Live at South Orange Elks, the latter of which I covered for Clean Sheets and which made my end of year top ten.

‘A Sea Storm in Heaven’ shares a similar vibe to To Whom You Were Born’ from the aforementioned debut in how it slowly builds with rumbling Drums and Psych infused Guitars. Its a curious mix of Spacemen 3 lysergic Space-Rock and Stooges Garage Punk (particularly towards the end of the track), a wonderful opener. ‘The High’ is superb with a fuzz laden sound which will hook itself into your consciousness, making its presence known throughout its duration. Itsvery tribal feel reminds the listener of contemporary outfits such as Here Lies Man who are known for their love of world music, particularly Afrobeat and artists such as Fela Kuti. ‘Empathy Song’ takes a slightly different tack, it seems, at least to me, to nod to the pioneering Noise-Pop of The Jesus and Mary Chain as well as the art damaged Rock of The Velvet Underground. There is a healing, comforting feel to it, to soothe troubled souls everywhere. Spiritually uplifting for sure. ‘Make Believe’ has a Krautrock style motorik beat as well as a strong drone sensibility, though its one far removed from the likes of Sunn O))) and Earth in the sense that some actual melodies employed here. Really cleverly written.

‘Hibernation’ sonically feels like its emerged from exactly that with some really very cool chanted Vocal lines which brilliantly accompany some gargantuan Doom Riffing ala Norwegians Purple Hill Witch and Saint Karloff, meanwhile ‘2000 Light Years From Home’ once again employs Space-Rock as good as classic Hawkwind and the Acid Rock of Nebula from around the time of Heavy Psych. ‘Audubon’ is an instrumental and is something of a jam, this one certainly seems to be a little more experimental than the likes of Phish, even veering onto Post-Rock and Prog territory. Even someone like myself who is notoriously fickle about those two genres can appreciate what the duo offer up here. If filmsoundtrack orientated bands such as Zombi get you going, you’ll love this. ‘Hole In My Head’ seemingly tips its hat to Punk-Blues and has anopening section that features a wonderfully stripped down acoustic section. As someone who loves PW Long (Wig/Mule/Reelfoot) and ‘Sam Hell’ by Helmet (from Betty which is in my opinion their finest work) I was well onboard with this. A surprising yet not unwelcoming track with which to conclude proceedings.

Walter Schreifels with Dead Heavens and Greg Anderson with Goatsnake, those involved in the Hardcore/Post-Hardcore scenes appear to have a penchant for performing in the Psych, Doom and Stoner Rock scenes. Ravens continue this ‘tradition’, their transition proving just as skillful and effortless on this superb release.