Sennen

First lines are always the hardest, especially with a band like Sennen. Devoid of any gimmick and flowing freely between two contrasting genres (pop and post-rock) Sennens sound can be bewildering. Luckily it can also be enticing, invigorating and most importantly extremely enjoyable.
The first two tracks set the tone perfectly. Opener 'I couldnt Tell You' is an eight minute opus, the song that Explosions in the Sky might create if they raised their heads from their shoes long enough to sing. 'Opened up my arms' on the other hand is a shave under five minutes and sounds like early Snow Patrol meditating on 'Love will tear us apart'.

Other notable moments are the final few minutes of 'Its not like it used to be', the sort of heavenly drone that godspeed would give two violinists for, which seques perfectly into the next track. Title track and closer 'Widows' is probably the defining moment, building on the sound of the rest album and ended in a tantric climax rarely seen this side of a chinstrokers wet dream.

Sennen could have gone in the direction of radio friendly pop and become the next Feeder or gone into full-on post-rock territory and overshadowed each band in the vague category with their heart wrenching walls of sound but instead they have chosen the middle ground. And for once that is the most exilarating option. A remarkably assured debut. 9/10 - Drowned In Sound

Hungry Audio If diskant operated any kind of ratings system for its reviews, this album would get the five star treatment. For a debut, this is incredibly competent and confident music. It's as if they've drawn up a list of the musical buttons to push in order to get me going, and worked out how to combine their effect into a 45-minute mini-epic which I'm fast becoming obsessed with: Spacemen 3; Stereolab; The Velvet Underground; The Workhouse; Slowdive; Galaxie 500.I'm not interested in any accusations of throwback shoegazing copyism which could be levelled at this album, its quality transcends any such shallow and lazy comparison. Over a relentlessly repetitive backdrop of monochord guitar mantras, Sennen build up textured and whirling melodic sounds which are constantly one step away from breaking free into beautifully chaotic noise. Some perfectly-pitched West-Coast-bliss lyrics top this off, resulting in timeless and affecting music. The depth and quality of each and every song on this album will, I hope, see Sennen propelled to the eager audience they deserve.


- Diskant

Norwich four piece Sennen have been riding on the crest of a wave of glowing adulation for several months now, as their excursions into pastoral, epic post-rock sophistication continues to gain momentum at an epic rate.Having produced several demos and (extremely) limited edition singles over the last couple of years, ‘Widows’ is their first general release for new label Hungry Audio, and despite only being seven tracks long in total, it still clocks in at a good 45 minutes in total. Anyone who’s seen or heard Sennen previously will recognise the pristine ‘Opened Up My Arms’ or the cathartic layered lullaby that is ‘Laid Out’, both of which have been staples of their live set virtually since their inception.What makes Sennen so different from a lot of the other atmospheric, lo-fi acts out there is that rather than copying the obvious forefathers of the post-rock scene Mogwai by bludgeoning people’s ears and craniums to the point of deafening insanity, their forte is to lure the listener in by using carefully orchestrated melodies before moving in for the kill within sight of the finishing line, as the delightful melancholic chimes of ‘It’s Not Like It Used To Be’ dissolves into a hail of feedback before morphing into the gloriously nihilistic ‘One And The Same Thing’, possibly the nearest Sennen get to the simplistic two minute pop song on the whole album.Opener ‘I Couldn’t Tell You’ and the closing epic drama of ‘Widows’ both nod their heads unashamedly to the halcyon days of ‘Nowhere’ era Ride, charmingly enticing to begin with but brutal as a snare breaking a wild hare’s leg on the moors at dawn by the finale.Whilst still not matching the intensity of their live set, ‘Widows’ still knocks spots off most of the competition in this genre and firmly puts Sennen on the map and facing the right direction for greater things. Dom Gourlay - The Downloader

"This two song single shows great improvement over 2005's "Widows" LP . The opening title song overcomes some very rough production (was anyone in the studio paying attention to the drum sound?) to find the band shedding some of their previous post-rock tendencies for a more direct and visceral approach that sounds somewhat like early Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The flipside, "All These Dreams Of You", is even better - a summer slice of shimmering indie-pop which indicates that these UK boys have probably got a pretty good collection of Spacemen 3/Spiritualized cd's at home. A solid step in the right direction.
DAVID MANSDORF - Losing Today

Imitation, as the old adage goes, is the sincerest form of flattery, and while it would be unfair to dismiss Sennen as mere copyists, anyone with even a passing interest in (predominantly) instrumental music will spot this Norwich four-piece's influences from a mile off. Of course that's not necessarilya bad thing, especially when the end result sounds as good as this. Perhaps unusually for a band who are so obviously enamoured with their six-stringers, the guitars have been pushed back in the mix, providing a blanket of lush pink noise that envelops but never overpowers some sumptuous vocal harmonies. Never fear though - distortion junkies should find their lust for tinnitus is more than satisfied by the cascading torrents of feedback that close 'It's Not Like It Used To Be' and, Overall, 'Widows' ticks all the right post-rock boxes. JOE MARSHALL - Rocksound

Sennen are part of a new breed of cacophonous rock bands who favour lush, expansive dynamics over cheap, quick adrenal thrills. 'Widows' is practically an indie record, although lurking beneath the surface of immaculately crooned vocals and carefully plucked melodies lies something altogether the darker and more considered than that chart-friendly tag would suggest.
This results in them making music that is utterly paradoxical@ uplifting, depressing, catchy and progressive all at once. Fans of Mogwai will retrace the steps of their more blustery moments with ease, but the odd derivative moment is not to be too harshly judged when it's clear they're setting off on an interesting trip and are politely inviting you along for the ride. ALISTAIR LAWRENCE
- Kerrang!

Blissed-out, harmony-drenched space pop from Norwich! Although Sennen are more often than not labelled ‘post-rock’ by critics, I personally think that they have much more in common with the Nu-Gazing Scene that’s currently bubbling-up ominously in various neglected corners of the UK. And, out of the current crop of Nu-Gazing bands currently flaunting their shimmering wares – ‘Let You Down’ by Sennen is probably my favourite track so far. The song is a low-key joy – and sounds like Ride after watching too many episodes of Top of the Pops! The B-Side is less essential – but still manages to sound impressively like Mogwai covering the Stone Roses. - Maps Magazine

Whirling creamy dreamy indie pop (anyone remember Whipped Cream and their orgasmic sound?) Lush, expansive, the new wave of shoe gazing part 72. Cascading, euphoric, dynamic, like a slowdive ride in a catherine wheel. Great big Explosions in The Sky and that euphoria that 65 Days of Static touch on (none of the glitching though). Sennen are from Norwich and to lump them in with the current crop of post rock bands would be to miss the point – this in lush dramatic adrenaline rush indie pop with a Byrds/Stone Roses edge. Beautiful and recomended - Organ Magazine

Let's all imagine we've collectively defied the fourth dimension and landed bemused in a newsagents during the summer of 1989. Would you be surprised to see Sennen staring back at you from the front page of Sounds? Because you get the impression that, if they had emerged with their swirling song-based guitar soundscapery back then, the band would quickly be praised in the more switched-on regions of the music media for mining a luscious take on cacophonous rock, the sort of noise that would give them the right to stand proud amongst their peers of the time.

Yet today, with every other group trying to infuse their 'sound' with the familiar rumble of distortion, they seem to be something a lot quainter – an indie-pop band creating slightly coy but pleasant indie-pop songs. Because with new single ‘Let You Down’ they're hardly ensnaring the listener with sonic revelation but having enough verve and deftness at crafting fuzzed-up guitar and bumbling harmonies into something crystalline and uplifting. It's quite the sweet indie racket, the sort of tune that gives a nod to Isn’t Anything rather than Loveless and manages to be soothing and screeching at the same time – achieved numerous times before by countless other bands, but still no mean feat.

Granted, their attempt at galaxy-weaving pop majesty comes across not so much as thrillingly chaotic, but just a bit awkward, and the slightly forced breathy vocals (hung around the “I will let you down” refrain) take the edge off any woozy, dream-like atmospherics by making them simply sound a bit unsure and shy. But ‘Let You Down’ does ultimately come out sounding effervescently charming. And with such a feedback-friendly but tune-wary approach to space-rock, Sennen do end up creating their own mumbled take on shoegaze, only the shoes are golden scuffed Jimmy Choos with really nice buckles being worn by the girl next door and they’ve formed a band to try and win her affections. They deserve a few admiring glances, at least.


Thomas Blatchford - Drowned In Sound