• Artist: The Artificial Sea
• Album: City Island
• Label: Traveling Music
• Release: 2006 (Europe)
• Links: MySpace (The Artificial Sea), MySpace (Alina Simone)

The Artificial Sea is a collaboration between Kevin C. Smith and Alina Simone. Simone is a singer/songwriter who released her debut EP (Prettier In The Dark) to scattered acclaim in 2005. Simone is currently preparing a full length release for her solo vehicle. Until then, there is City Island, which, so far, is only being released in Europe. Simone’s solo work tends to be a stripped-down affair that is often compared to the likes of Cat Power, Mirah, and PJ Harvey. City Island will no doubt receive Portishead and Beth Gibbons comparisons, and while that is acceptable to an extent, there is a lot more happening here.

Smith, a former music instructor, reportedly met Simone while giving a theremin lesson. He plays all of the instruments (guitar, synth, DIY electronics) on City Island and Simone, of course, sings. “Gloryhole,” the opening track, gives the best representation of City Island. Drums and bass boom alongside Simone’s haunting voice as a synth swirls through the wreckage. The theatrical “Tunnel Vision” offers Simone’s best vocal performance to date and is the track that truly sold me on City Island. “The Light of 1,000 Televisions” and “Vor” are, if I dare say, authentic trip-hop, a hard thing to come by these days.

“Things We Spent” and “Happy Ending” are too thin for my liking, one of the few complaints I have with this one. Granted, City Island pushes Simone in a completely different direction than her solo work. This is an experience that should bode well for her full length though. The album establishes Smith as a promising noisemaker and I am interested to hear any future releases from him. It is unfortunate that City Island has yet to solicit a U.S. distributor. This is a successful collaboration worth seeking out.

(11/12/06)

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