No Sea Power, we're British!

[chveik]

there's nothing wrong with nationalizing sea power you big wallies

[idunnosomename]

i always pictured their band name as offshore renewable energy for our island. how naïve I was

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

They could have really stuck it to the gammons and kept the nautical theme by calling themselves the RNLI.

[JohnnyCouncil]

My favourite band of all time, if only for their first album. Been reading the reactions to the name change on fb, some hilariously ironic "bah you've gone WOKE" moans from people who clearly haven't paid the blindest bit of attention to anything about them ever, if they're surprised by this (apart from anything else Yan has spoken about regretting the name for years.)

I obviously love them,  I literally have the cover of Decline tattooed on me, and it will always be my favourite collection of music ever, but the hideous cynic in me can't help but think is this partly for publicity? New single coming out etc. I feel like a treacherous cunt for even thinking it but it's hard not to.

Men Together Today is a fantastic opener, one of the best for a debut album. They're a band I think i'll always love depite not actively loving an album since 'Rock Music' (Soundtrack work has been ace mind).

The problem for them is that they need to do a decent run of Sea Power albums for it to have any impact/point.

[amateur]

Waving Flags and Who's In Control are both superb singles.

I quite like the name British Sea Power personally but more sea power to them.

[Norton Canes]

Open Season definitely their best album, Decline... being great but a bit ragged round the edges. Probably listened to Do You Like Rock Music? more though, some proper anthemic stuff on there.

[imitationleather]

Open Season definitely their best album, Decline... being great but a bit ragged round the edges. Probably listened to Do You Like Rock Music? more though, some proper anthemic stuff on there.

Agreed.

[The Mollusk]

Valhalla Dancehall and Zeus EP are both excellent as well. They are a magnificent band.

[gilbertharding]

I got their first few singles and album, but haven't listened to them (or anything else by them) for years. I'm another one who is a bit surprised they're still going.

As for the name, I'm surprised it took them so long. Although I appreciated it was always about a slightly ironic nostalgia for the days of Scapa Flow and the Battle of Jutland... it's a bit of a dead-end. I'm more surprised that anyone, especially BSP fans, is bothered that they've dropped the British.

[Aleister Growley]

Seep Hour

[sevendaughters]

thought Open Season was a bit of a trudge and they sort of played the festival rock sound on their main albums afterward (I really like 'No Lucifer' though), but I have great memories of their early years and saw them a few times (opening an NME show at the Astoria, opening for Six by Seven, headline gig in a small bar in Manchester) when they still had bangers like 'Spirit of St. Louis' in their set.

I guess I feel this story as my band has a darkly ironic name that I'm not as keen on as the millisecond that I suggested it in, but the idea of changing it to satisfy some weird liberal anxiety feels a bit bending in the prevailing wind to me.

[gilbertharding]

It's not as bad (hard to explain) as Steve Albini's

Spoiler alert

Rapeman

[close]

.

[Icehaven]

I'm more surprised that anyone, especially BSP fans, is bothered that they've dropped the British.

I'm not convinced many are, I reckon at least some of the apparently now ex-fans are just trolls who've barely or never even heard of them and are just enjoying another chance to gob off about evil wokeness.

[gilbertharding]

I'm now listening to The Decline of British Sea Power for the first time in 17 years, and I'd forgotten how much the first couple of tracks remind me of the Pixies.

I'm not convinced many are, I reckon at least some of the apparently now ex-fans are just trolls who've barely or never even heard of them and are just enjoying another chance to gob off about evil wokeness.

Yeah, that's the impression I got too, mostly.

[Head Gardener]

Black Sea Power - with it's nods to XTC and current affairs

[Icehaven]

I'm not convinced many are, I reckon at least some of the apparently now ex-fans are just trolls who've barely or never even heard of them and are just enjoying another chance to gob off about evil wokeness.

Yeah, that's the impression I got too, mostly.

Which is actually fine, given it's at least in part for publicity anyway (but is still well intentioned too, it can be both). Given how loud the prannets like to yell, why not use it to your own ends?

[ProvanFan]

I knew a guy who was pissed off about Waving Flags back in the day.

[gilbertharding]

Which is actually fine, given it's at least in part for publicity anyway (but is still well intentioned too, it can be both). Given how loud the prannets like to yell, why not use it to your own ends?

Of course it can.

And, it got their first album a spotify stream from me this morning, so...

[Wayman C. McCreery]

It's odd, they have one of the most dedicated and obsessive fanbases I've ever experienced first hand but you really wouldn't expect them to have such a following.

I was part of that obsessive fanbase during the Decline of... era, though a lack of cash meant I didn't go to literally every single gig like some of my friends I made through following them did.

The first album is remarkable. A perfect 10 from me. And the b-sides, standalone singles and all the other tracks from that era are pretty much perfect too. They were an exhilarating live act, and had so many songs even in the early days that you'd get a different setlist every time. The Compleat British Sea Power, Volume 1 is a must if you're a fan of The Decline of...

Open Season was ok. There are some great moments on it, but plenty of filler too. I think you could've made a worthy follow-up to The Decline of... by swapping a few songs for some of the b-sides. It was at this point that the gigs started to get a bit gimmicky with antics like the massive bear, though they were still better than any of their contemporaries.

I lost interest after Do You Like Rock Music? All the subtleties had gone and they just became any other indie rock band. I've not really listened to any of the subsequent records, but what I have heard sounds samey and uninspired. I think I've seen them once or twice since, but the fact I can barely remember if I have or not probably says a lot.

I'll always love them for those early years, but their newer stuff is so inconsequential to me that I couldn't really care less about this name change. Though it seems to be winding the right people up, which suggests it was the right call.

[SteveDave]

Are GB News onto this yet? I'm telling.

https://twitter.com/gbnews/status/1425192585841233921

Snitch.

[holyzombiejesus]

"They're certainly no Keane."

[imitationleather]

If anyone watched GB News that would have been amazing publicity for them!

[Pauline Walnuts]

Before I forget, I love the title of this thread. It makes me lolz.

[Goldentony]

went to see these once as a favour with a mate because I had nothing else to do, very good but came away thinking everything sounded like Australia by the Manic Street Preachers. There's my contribution.

[Head Gardener]

I have fondness for this tune https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rToa8GXYyUo

[Icehaven]

https://twitter.com/gbnews/status/1425192585841233921

Snitch.

Like this reply;

20 year career, 5 top 30 albums, four film soundtracks, they do alright.  More successful than GB News.

[amateur]

Heard Two Fingers a few more times and have decided it's really good.

[JohnnyCouncil]

Yeah definitely agree with this, the infinite airplay on 6 music really does help. Might give the album a proper chance based on this.

[turnstyle]

I reckon the lads have ballsed up here. Naval stuff is really hot right now, thanks to that BBC drama on the submarine. Lads! What were you thinking!!!

Reminds me of some of the weird prefixes/suffixes bands had to add for US audiences, like the Charlatans UK and the truly terrible London Suede. Except like, in reverse.

[Spiteface]

https://twitter.com/gbnews/status/1425192585841233921

Snitch.

Not really on-topic, seen them opening for the Manics a few years ago, wasn't for me. But what is the point of Dan Wootton?