The Sea The Sea

For Chuck and Mira Costa, The Sea The Sea's new album, From The Light marks a shift: it’s an evolution in their sound, a blend of indie-folk that combines lyric-centered songs with incomparable harmonies. With the release of their second full-length collection, they have also added to their band: formerly touring as a duo, they now incorporate additional vocals, synthesizer and drums where they once relied on a more acoustic sound. From The Light is set for release on June 1, with a pre-order campaign currently underway with PledgeMusic.

The Sea The Sea teamed up with producer Troy Pohl for From The Light, an all-inclusive soundtrack that parallels the apparent duality in everyday life. More importantly, though, it’s an exploration of the spaces in-between — the grey areas, where the story often lies. The record begins with the single “Everybody,” a prologue and commentary on the current political climate, an underlying theme of the album. Written during the fall and winter of 2016, it’s their way of trying to see past differences without judgement. Earmilk noted their “heavenly blend of folk style songwriting with a gentle indie rock flair” on the track.

Similar themes can be heard in “Ricochet,” a message about trying to formulate your own views, amidst the noise. Others, like “Phototropic” and “Good For Something” focus on the pull towards positivity. Parade praised the arpeggiated guitar and gentle harmonies showcased on “Good For Something,” based on a message Chuck’s grandfather used to repeat: “Things can never be so bad that they’re not good for something.”

“We were really looking at light and the idea of its duality — so often we create binary divisions between everything, but really, it’s all connected,” Mira said, adding that the lyrics of the title track bring the album together as a whole, “There’s a crack where the window’s open, it’s the width of the page you turned. It’s a blink of an eye from the light to the dark to the light to the dark again.”

From The Light builds and expands on previous sounds showcased on their acclaimed first album, Love We Are We Love. In response to their first album, Huffington Post referred to them as, “two of the loveliest male-female voices you might ever hear this or any other year.” Their video for “Waiting,” an animation of 3,454 (oil on paper) paintings, sparked viral interest including Buzzfeed, Pitchfork, and was included in the 2015 international TED conference. They have also been recognized by NPR, American Songwriter, The Bluegrass Situation and No Depression and most recently Paste Music & Daytrotter, which remarked that they are “a pop band only in their melodic infectiousness—otherwise they are at their best when subverting conventions.”

Based in Troy, New York, The Sea The Sea was born out of the need for something new. On the brink of turning away from music in 2011, Chuck ran into Mira, a previous acquaintance. The two reconnected and began exploring different sounds, eventually evolving into their current blend of indie-folk. The band now tours as a four-piece band with Cara May Gorman on vocals and synthesizer, as well as drummer and percussionist Stephen Struss.