Seti The First – The Wolves of Summerland – Album Review by Killian Laher

Seti the First are an instrumental duo Kevin Murphy and Thomas Haugh who released a charming debut album, Melting Cavalry, in 2012. Not rushing the follow up, they have returned after four and a half years with The Wolves of Summerland. How you feel about this will depend largely on how you feel about the harpsichord, as it is all over this album, dominating the strident opener Pig Iron Prophet and the baroque sounding Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors. For those who preferred the quiet contemplation of their debut, Century Flowers and the title track are sparser, leaning more heavily on Murphy’s cello, giving them an expansive, widescreen feel. However, tenser, more dramatic music dominates the album with the charging, sweeping A Mechanical Turk and the dark, menacing In The Valley of Limbs. The prominent strings on Red Admirals give this track a more emotional heft than some of the rest of the material here, while final track Henry the Navigator is both the longest, and the most complex piece here.

A more difficult beast than its predecessor to warm to, credit to them for avoiding the obvious path and ploughing their own furrow. It’s available here.

Track List:

1. Pig Iron Prophet
2. Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors
3. Century Flowers
4. The Bicycle Thief
5. Glass Soldiers Parade
6. A Mechanical Turk
7. In The Valley of Limbs
8. The Wolves of Summerland
9. Red Admirals
10. Henry the Navigator