Auckland’s Sea Views have an affinity with the ocean. There’s the name for one. But the band’s music and concept was formed over pints of Speights Old Dark while overlooking the Whangaroa Harbour from St. Pauls Rock.Born from the two-piece Lion Eyes, their debut EP Into the Night was recorded at the Lab with Jeremy Toy (She’s So Rad) and Tom Healy. It’s a sound the band have aptly dubbed “grunge-gaze” and at times the EP is noisier than you might expect from the lush, stripped back beginnings. By the end of each track though everything seems to have come full circle.Listen to the EP below and read a chat we had with singer Benjamin Locke.Noisey: You’re formed from Auckland band Lion Eyes. What was the transition like?
Benjamin Locke: Lion Eyes was burning up/out/down… something was on fire. Katie and I had been playing as a two-piece for a little while which was great, pushes you in some good ways but was also very restrictive. We had some good little embers glowing then we met the dashing kindling of Robert Bruce and Scott Kendall! Playing with them felt very good. We were happy. We started playing as four, still as Lion Eyes but it didn’t really fit. One day Scott and I looked at the Great Pacific Ocean, and I called it a sea. I think from that point we had a better understanding of the sounds we wanted to make.The songs ebb and flow with some building to crescendo, before returning to the softer and lush guitar tones. What does the sea mean to you, and to your songs?
It’s definitely romantic and frightening. It’s a nice simple thing to focus on but then you can add some small detail to it, put a little boat out there, a stormy cloud and it’s meaning changes dramatically. Maybe that’s a good way to write songs. I think I’m figuring this out. Connections are being made. The sea is a very easy starting point for a narrative. We get a bit grungy too. The sea is very soft/loud. Fish are also good.Hardboiled crime writer Raymond Chandler is another influence. That’s an interesting fit with the nautical inspiration.
Yeah, he doesn’t write much about the sea. What I like and I think what has influenced me about Chandler is how his descriptions are so detailed. He creates this sense of sentimentality about the scenes he’s describing. He makes it feel like everything is there for a reason and the character is taking great pleasure in seeing everything that’s laid out in front of him. That’s kind of what I want to do as a concept for Sea Views, create some really nice scenes that you can gaze out at. Also everyone should read Lady in the Lake. The ending is very good. I literally dropped it when I finished it.
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Benjamin Locke: Lion Eyes was burning up/out/down… something was on fire. Katie and I had been playing as a two-piece for a little while which was great, pushes you in some good ways but was also very restrictive. We had some good little embers glowing then we met the dashing kindling of Robert Bruce and Scott Kendall! Playing with them felt very good. We were happy. We started playing as four, still as Lion Eyes but it didn’t really fit. One day Scott and I looked at the Great Pacific Ocean, and I called it a sea. I think from that point we had a better understanding of the sounds we wanted to make.The songs ebb and flow with some building to crescendo, before returning to the softer and lush guitar tones. What does the sea mean to you, and to your songs?
It’s definitely romantic and frightening. It’s a nice simple thing to focus on but then you can add some small detail to it, put a little boat out there, a stormy cloud and it’s meaning changes dramatically. Maybe that’s a good way to write songs. I think I’m figuring this out. Connections are being made. The sea is a very easy starting point for a narrative. We get a bit grungy too. The sea is very soft/loud. Fish are also good.Hardboiled crime writer Raymond Chandler is another influence. That’s an interesting fit with the nautical inspiration.
Yeah, he doesn’t write much about the sea. What I like and I think what has influenced me about Chandler is how his descriptions are so detailed. He creates this sense of sentimentality about the scenes he’s describing. He makes it feel like everything is there for a reason and the character is taking great pleasure in seeing everything that’s laid out in front of him. That’s kind of what I want to do as a concept for Sea Views, create some really nice scenes that you can gaze out at. Also everyone should read Lady in the Lake. The ending is very good. I literally dropped it when I finished it.
'Into the Night' is available now through the band’s Bandcamp page.Max is an Auckland based writer. Follow him @maxwhatsthehaps