Description:
Sea Lemon – Diving for a Prize (2025)
Review:
Dorididae, a taxonomy term for the sea slug family commonly referred to as a “sea lemon,” feeds on sponges. Sea Lemon, Seattle-based musician Natalie Lew’s dream pop project by the same name feeds on something too: ‘80s, ‘90s, and even early ‘00s music acts. She regurgitates them into intriguing and bittersweet nostalgic tunes. For the most part, the experiments on her 12-track debut album, Diving for a Prize, are enjoyable, but they aren’t special. At best, they’re a decent trip down music memory lane, fodder for time-consuming games on lengthy road trips where you try to figure out which band each track resembles the most. Lew’s best song construction comes on the second track, “Stay,” an obvious standout on the LP. Layers of ‘90s pop culture and drenched chorus effects wash over the listener throughout the song’s runtime, whether they reference Paula Cole’s Dawson’s Creek theme, Enya, or one of the album’s two strongest influences: Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas. What makes this track work though isn’t these sound-alikes, but Lew’s young, ethereal, fey-like vocals. When combined with a melodic and catchy chorus, the song cements itself as a proper single, hooking the listener in to try the full album’s runtime on for size. The album’s other major influence is only realized later, first on the eighth track, “Cynical.” As jaunty reverb-heavy drums, steady basslines and happy-go-lucky guitar lines whisk out of the listener’s speakers, The Cure’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me will be on the top of most listener’s minds. Thankfully, again, Lew succeeds here, not because of her appreciation of Robert Smith, but because of her exceptional and enchanting melodies. The 10th track, “Rear View,” has an equally strong melodic chorus built on the shoulders of these post-punk, gothic rockers. Despite the enjoyable urge to name off what band each song seems to reference — “Crystals”? The Dandy Warhols!, “Sunken Cost”? The Smashing Pumpkins! — doing so only reminds you of how Lew isn’t necessarily doing anything new here. Her lyrics are vague too, most likely on purpose to let the listener take on whatever meaning they wish to. Though there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, her lines aren’t intriguing enough to stick, so the listener focuses on her melody tones against the constructed sonic backings. Lew’s songs are catchy enough, but the question looms: how well will you be able to remember them after the album finishes? Other than “Stay,” the answer is “not too well,” except for a few in the middle that are memorably bad. First, there’s “Blue Moon,” with an introductory “jump scare,” as Lew’s ghostly voice warbles through a static speaker. After this uncanny opening, her voice comes in more clearly and carries a discordant and grating melody line above derivative ‘80s synth licks and drum beats. Airing angsty and existentialist poetry in the lyrics, the track cements itself as the LP’s worst song: “Diggin’ for a worm/ Best friend is a bird/ Then why is the grass/ So dead, won’t last/ I don’t mind/ If it’s all a game/ Nature plays on me/ All the same.” Though not as bad, “Sweet Anecdote,” the follow-up track, has rattling, siren-like sound effects, making an otherwise forgettable song actively unpleasant. These two songs illustrate that when Lew tries something novel instead of a tried and true nostalgic formula, it won’t work as well for the listener. For the most part, Lew’s debut album is an enjoyable listen, but it’s also nostalgically indifferent to the point where it isn’t going to stick around long in one’s gray matter. Perhaps it might be fun material for a road trip, but if you forget the CD, no fear — the license plate game is still a decent mainstay. — spectrumculture.com
Track List:
01 - Thought for You
02 - Stay
03 - Silver
04 - Change Your Face
05 - Give In
06 - Blue Moon
07 - Sweet Anecdote
08 - Cynical
09 - Sunken Cost
10 - Rear View
11 - Crystals (feat. Benjamin Gibbard)
12 - In the Flowers
Media Report:
Genre: dream-pop, shoegaze
Origin: Seattle, Washington, USA 
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.3.0 (UTC 2013-05-26)
Note: If you like the music, support the artist.
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