Seine

About

" A poppy, accessible form of moody trip-hop "

Ever-changing Zagreb act Seine have had a diverse and interesting journey. Originally the solo project of the imaginative Ivan Ščapec, debut album ‘Sno Sna’ (2017) was a decent but not overly inspiring, strummy folk-punk offering which kind of plods along pleasantly enough without being overly inspiring. From there, things, sung entirely in Croat, got a whole lot more interesting.

Exhibiting obvious trip-hop influences and a previously only hinted at flare for the subtle, slow-building and pace-morphiny, 2019’s ‘22’ has a vastly different aesthetic, a moody, dancefloor filling record with dramatic corners as well as toned-down, atmospheric moments that gave it an almost shoegazing feel at times.

By 2022, now performing as a three-piece, the sound appeared fully formed, with a starker aesthetic but the same dingy mood taking over on third record ‘Naizust’. That record from Seine opens with ‘Peripetija’, a track that borrows from the semi-whispered vocal feel of a Billie Eilish together with a dramatic and memorable yet sparse dynamic. The twin hit of ‘Automatsko Pisanje’ parts 1 and 2 sees the art-pop dynamic in full flow, with brittle percussion and delicate vocals transporting.

‘Naizust’ seems set out to surprise, and is one of those records thats live credentials seem to shine even away from a live setting: it’s immediately obvious how the combination of soft and jarring, with delicate synths and sudden turns, could fly high on stage, propelling the band into the kind of basement-filling, head-spinning crescendos that are both transforming and timeless.