home	news	catalog	calendar	mp3s	downloads	links	about	faq	contact	press tools

The Sad Sea CD 2008 | Silber 064 8 tracks, 44 minutes $12 Hotel Hotel's long awaited second album! Violins & guitars post-rocking & droning! track listing: from harbour, the dirac sea (low tide), mary celeste, equator in the meantime (black sabbath), the shoreline disappeared, the dirac sea (high tide), the captain goes down with the ship (sinking), the captain goes down with the ship (drowning) : Press release

Texans Hotel Hotel have tapped into a fertile wellspring of melancholy bubbling up from deep in the ocean’s depths on this, their second album (the first being 2006’s ‘All heroes are forever bold’, which apparently featured a different drummer who subsequently disappeared under mysterious circumstances at LaGuardia Airport, leading to something of a hiatus in the band’s career... however, I digress.)
Salty old sea dogs long in the whisker, such as myself, will immediately identify with Hotel Hotel’s modus operandi on ‘The Sad Sea’: the lengthy instrumental passages, seamless track-to-track changes and the compositional unity is eerily redolent of a 1970s Progressive Rock Concept Album. The eight titles all serve to underscore this, ranging  as they do from ‘From Harbour’ via ‘The Shoreline Disappeared’ and ‘The Dirac Sea’ (wasn’t Dirac that fellow from Bristol who discovered antimatter?) to the inevitable closing pieces, ‘The Captain Goes Down With The Ship’ (two parts, Sinking and Drowning, but no Waving.)
The album is however symphonic without once lapsing into pretentiousness, and uses classical instruments whilst leaving its feet remaining firmly rooted in rock, juxtaposing delicate, alluring guitar work and atmospheric cymbal splashes with often quite sinister howls from a violin. On ‘The Shoreline Disappeared’ a piano is used to great effect, adding movement to the fluid sounds; and on ‘The Dirac Sea (High Tide)’ a pounding drum riff drives the number forward. Interestingly, an electric violin is used as a lead instrument here. I’d love to believe there was a nod of recognition to the similarly violin-driven High Tide and their signature album ‘Sea Shanties’ from 1969, but sadly I rather doubt that’s the case. Nevertheless, ‘The Sad Sea’ is a fine piece of work and I for one will be filing it amongst the “keep” pile.
~ Phil McMullen, terrascope online

This band has an interesting story very early in their career. After releasing their first album (allheroesareforeverbold), the band's drummer disappeared at an airport and has not been heard from since. Because he was the driving force in the band, the other members felt somewhat lost initially...before running into a fellow in a bar who was searching for a lost ship called the Marie Celeste. Thus, the idea for The Sad Sea was born. If the idea was to create atmospheric pieces to conjure up ideas of the seas and the skies above, then the guys in Hotel Hotel have succeeded magnificently. The album is divided into eight sections. The music might be described as ambient drone or even modern classical. There is no percussion...only the ethereal and slightly surreal tones ebbing and flowing in and out of the speakers. Beautiful, intricate compositions include "From Harbour," "Mary Celeste," "The Dirac Sea (High Tide)," and "The Captain Goes Down With the Ship (Drowning)." Beautiful stuff, highly stylized. Housed inside a really cool and classy cardboard sleeve...
~ Babysue

What happens when two post-rock land-lubbers team up with a salt-sucking barfly and go seek out the Mary Celeste? Somewhere between Texas and Haiti things got lost in low tides and gloom, pounded by relentless dumpers and sent drifting for days beyond either compass or Sat Nav. Luckily, the men on board the stricken schooner found time to record that all important LP of fogginess and float it home before the onset of yellow jack.
Slotting somewhere between the drones of Xela’s Dead Sea (2006) and most anything by the young Greg Haines, “The Captain Goes Down With The Ship (Sinking)” rolls out soundscapes designed to cause mindscrews, plus an extra peripheral element you really don’t want to entertain if you’ve just set foot on your first luxury liner. Violins slide into a cold and watery grave—not quite with the grace of the quartet in Titanic, but all the more authentic for it—conspiring with a frozen Theremin line to ice-nine a vast sea that dooms the listener to shivers. It’s a stoic and ghastly little number, cold as corpses in pack-ice and perfectly suited to anyone who gave up on the sound of a rescue chopper. Just the job if you’re into your brine and bereavement, but to the more casual listeners out there, I’d recommend heading Michael Caine’s remarks from the last few moments of The Prestige: “I once told you about a sailor who drowned. He said it was like going home. I lied—he said it was agony.”
~ George Bass, Coke Machine Glow

What makes Hotel Hotel’s newest album, The Sad Sea, so utterly compelling is that despite the lack of lyrics, or spoken language, the album conveys complex emotions from every nook and galley. Filled with ocean sounds and heavily affected tsunami crashes, the record tells the tale of a nautical voyage in simple soundscape. Its eight tracks mimic the undulations in the ocean tides—in how they rise and fall through pulsing, dramatic mix—from a track aptly titled “From Harbour” through “The Captain Goes Down With The Ship (Drowning).” Like its inspiration, there is no sense of stasis.
From tip to tail, The Sad Sea is among the most listenable and accessible electronic/ambient music in recent memory.
From Austin, Texas, the cryptically named band members enmesh themselves in their oeuvre. Whether it is the deep water itself or the music inspires it, it’s difficult to tell. Billed as post-rock/ambient—even blues—the band transcends the ordinary from the shuddering open through depths (“Equator In The Meantime (Black Sabbath)”) and climaxes (“The Dirac Sea (High Tide)”). With their first full album (one EP, one live LP in their locker), this band should grasp a healthy lot of the latter.
~ Erick Mertz, Kevchino.com

Enigmatic, post-rock Texans, Hotel Hotel hide behind confusing pseudonyms like vortex/index, team/odessa, and chaos/trade union, but I have it on good authority that P.D. Wilder and Patrick Patterson may be amongst the culprits who recorded this concept album about the ghost ship, Mary Celeste and its fateful voyage from Galveston, Texas to its (alleged) discovery off the coast of Haiti in 2001. Packaged in a marvellous, die-cut, trifold cardboard digipak, the slow as molasses intro to “From Harbor” saunters into the room with the hesitant expectancy of fellow Austin snorecore agents, Stars of The Lid and Explosions in The Sky. Dual violins add a melancholic touch, yet the melody is bright and hopeful, as the Mary Celeste begins her voyage. An ominous sense of dread and terror envelops the listener as “The Dirac Sea (Lower Tide)” begins, and I’m immediately reminded of Jocelyn Pook’s soundtrack for Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, particularly the spooky “Masked Ball” sequence.
As with Windy & Carl, Landing, and label mates, Aarktica, my wife likens the listening experience to hearing a bunch of guys standing around tuning their guitars, so the listener is alerted not to come expecting Top 40 pop, but swirling, soothing, sometimes frightening atmospherics coaxed out of guitars, pianos, and violins. The swelling, sweltering chaotic maelstrom of “Equator In The Meantime” comes with its own parenthetical reference point, “(Black Sabbath),” while the delicate, dare I say, pretty, “The Shoreline Disappeared” finds our crew floating aimlessly, completely surrounded by an ocean-meets-sky horizon, as a lonely piano tinkles out a forlorn melodic motif and a weeping violin suggests something is askew. The album ends with two versions of “The Captain Goes Down With The Ship” (subtitled “(Sinking)” and “(Drowning)” respectively), so comparisons with the Titanic’s fate will also spring to mind as the listener hopefully, yet helplessly stands by as the Captain and the crew are swallowed by the ocean.
This would work as a perfect companion piece to Jonathan Geers’ 2005 debut, “Essex” (which also musically depicted the fate of a sunken ship), but certainly stands alone as one of the year’s strongest releases, regardless of your stance on the ultimate fate of the world’s most famous ghost ship! Fans of Godspeed! You Black Emperor and the late Jason DiEmilio’s Asuza Plane will also be enthralled by these exciting, emotional, at times, heartwrenching melodies and atmospheres. 9/10
~ Jeff Penczak, Foxy Digitalis

Far away in another time and place, as space luxuriates and there’s time for the world to unfold at an unhurried pace. This cool evocative moody ambience wafts through the lofty branches of the trees as they sway in an invisble wind. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, meets Stars of the Lid, with a little spacious krautrock thrown in for good measure.
~ Geaorge Parsons, Dream Magazine

Without words this album presented me 2008’s most vivid musical story, propelling me on a voyage upon The Sad Sea’s fragile Mary Celeste, first nearly soothing me into naïve complacency with the at once tranquil and foreboding ‘From Harbour’ and ‘The Dirac Sea (Low Tide)’, but finally destroying my calmness along with the doomed ship, drowning me in waves of droning guitar and crying strings, which seem to be struggling for air as feverously as the ship’s fated captain.
~ New Age of Heroes

Post instrumental rock in the style of GY!BE and A Silver Mount Zion, Texan four piece Hotel Hotel have conceptualised their newest release with a wonderful if suspiciously cinematic tale once told to them by a drunken seafarer who in 2001 tried to find the hulk of the Mary Celeste.
Regardless of how true this tale may or may not be it provides the perfect stimulus when listening to ‘The Sad Sea’ with each track title prompting the desired image. Take ‘From Harbour’ for example, which with its mixture of serene ambience and minimal percussion conjures up a sound that could be likened to Popl Vuh’s film scores, likewise with ‘The Dirac Sea (low Tide)’ that with poise and equanimity manages to place you right within the album’s conceptual narrative.
Once we are upon the track ‘Mary Celeste’ we are lead to assume that our music-lead story has reached its destination, with an intense and minimal use of violin overshadowing most other instruments in the composition, changing the album’s feeling dramatically from calm to disquiet .
‘The Shoreline Disappeared’ meanwhile takes on a sombre tone, with a composition which, while seeming more simplistic perhaps in its execution compared to the others on the album, is none-the-less still as a dramatic and powerful as its counterparts.
Likewise with the last two tracks ‘The Captain Goes down with His Ship (Sinking)’ and ‘The Captain Goes down with His Ship (Drowning) that together creating a bleak yet reflective atmosphere, the perfect soundtrack when facing death head on, sealing a tragic fate for our protagonist within the loose narrative that the album generates.
Indeed Hotel Hotel are not without their own melancholia and tragedy, having had their first drummer disappear at LaGuardia Airport, never to be heard from again.
In a strange way you could argue that the tale of seeking out the Mary Celeste is metaphorically meaningful to the group, a personal catharsis to come to terms with a truly haunting experience. That or you could simply say it’s a great and moving story and one not to be missed, either way Hotel Hotel have done that old sea dog justice, whether he truly existed or not, by producing a great post rock/ ambient album with a unique and palpable sense of purpose as opposed to rambling self interested orchestrations.
~ Michael Byrne, Left Hip

Few sounds in this world are less interesting to me than ones that fly under the banner “post-rock.” And even if I like the sounds of it, I’m usually really put off by something else, like overly complicated CD packaging, a band’s mysterious need to punctuate the middle of their name, or even just pesky reviewers who use the word “soundscapes” to describe a record. (Seriously. Can that word go away? “Soundscape” is as bad as “ringle”, as far as dumb music terminology goes.)
So I should have hated The Sad Sea, an album that just dares you to remove it from its form-fitting cardboard packaging without getting scratches and/or fingerprints all over the damn thing. And to make it worse, Austin five-piece Hotel, Hotel have a comma in the middle of their name. But the sounds on the album–and they’re not soundscapes, reviewers be damned–are really achingly lovely, and completely won me over despite myself.
A concept album about the wreck of a ship called the Mary Celeste, The Sad Sea drones along slowly, with lots of droning, two violinists and no vocals. On opening track “From Harbour” they sound like Low re-writing the theme music for Twin Peaks, and from there the album just gets lovelier. And as the ships slowly slips away in closing track “The Captain Goes Down With the Ship (Drowning),” there’s a sense of gloomy peace that defies cheesiness somehow.
~ Matthew Lawrence, Providence Daily Dose

Hotel Hotel is an American band hailing from Texas. In Spring 2007 their drummer disappeared in very strange circumstances and hasn’t been seen since than. The duo P.D. Wilder – Patrick Patterson went on and helped by several guest musicians they’ve finally launched this new album. While they claim to compose post-rock music, I guess the definition of experimental and soundtrack music is probably more appropriate. They for sure have a very clear and explicit kind of psychedelic rock influence and the use of guitar and drums can definitely be linked to a wider rock genre. It can be really surprising to hear the way they play the guitar. The song “Equator In the Meantime” evolves into a sort of psychedelic-trance-rock. It’s totally surprising and definitely an original track. Hotel Hotel also brings more soundtrack relevant pieces, which can be even filled with some neo-classical impressions. The main thing with this band is that the entire composition remains pretty experimental and like often with this type of music it’s less accessible for a wider audience. You’ll either like it or not, there’s no where in between!
~ Side-Line

If true, it is indeed a fantastic story. A fantastic voyage, even. The Sad Sea was derived from Hotel Hotel's expedition with a sailor/sea captain searching for a ghost ship. i am so high right now. i'm doing an interpretive dance to this.
~ Kenyon Hopkin, Advance Copy

Post rock is a genre that slowly but steadily is getting more and more attention from different kinds of music lovers. The often lengthy, complicated and melodic guitar pop with minimal vocals is best known from band like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky. Hotel Hotel are on the edge between ambient and post-rock, a little like Eluvium.
This is a disc for people that like very tranquil music. Where many bands use tension spans that erupt in loud climaxes, ‘The Sad Sea’ of Hotel Hotel takes it much easier. The music flows easy without any song grabbing your explicit attention. With several listening sessions this pool of music becomes somewhat clearer and then there are even songs that seem somewhat heavier than others, especially “Equator in the meantime (black sabbath)” and the diptych “The captain goes down with the ship”. Hotel Hotel is being manned by two violists, a drummer, a guitarist and a bass player who also added the space echoes on the record.
This melting of post-rock and ambient will definitely please some people. I do not, however, expect people to put on this disc when they wake up, but I rather when they go to bed, and are setting sail for Dreamland.
~ Gothtronic

Jamais vraiment remis de la séparation de Godspeed You ! Black Emperor, les amateurs de grandes envolées instrumentales épiques errent au gré de la production étiquetée "post-rock", délaissant progressivement les sorties du label Constellation parti défricher d’autres terres. Silber Records et Hotel Hotel offrent un palliatif, dans un registre plus ambiant et aquatique.
Le collectif texan, constitué initialement en marge des activités principales de ces protagonistes, est devenu après son premier album en 2006 un véritable groupe, comptant deux violonistes, un batteur, un bassiste et un guitariste, soit 5 musiciens (épaulés par quelques autres) qui préfèrent se dissimuler derrière leurs instruments et leurs compositions - en guise de photos de presse, Hotel Hotel préfère des dessins de poulpes. Un univers maritime auquel semble attaché le groupe, The Sad Sea se présentant comme une odyssée épique sous le ligne de flottaison. Passées des pièces aquatiques qui bercent au gré du clapotis que n’aurait pas renié Sars Of The Lid, Equator In The Meantime est une belle version du morceau de Black Sabbath, démontrant les aspirations des texans, capables de faire vrombir leurs instruments : une déflagration de guitare s’assoit sur une section rythmique martiale pour ferrailler avec les violons omniprésents. Les compositions instrumentales du groupe jouent à l’élastique, entre de vertigineuses ascensions et l’apaisement des grandes plaines. Une suite sinusoïdale qu’on suivi bien évidemment avant eux GY !BE ou encore Tarentel à ses débuts, mais qui séduit une fois encore, comme sur le très réussi morceau de clôture The Captain Goes Down With The Ship (Drowning).
~ Denis Frelat, Autres Directions

Het Texaanse Hotel Hotel werd hier al eerder besproken met hun live album "Under Sea, Over Storm". Nu is er dan hun eerste echte studio album op Silber Records, "The Sad Sea Year". Volgens bijgeleverde informatie heeft het album sterk vertraging opgelopen toen hun drummer in april 2007 spoorloos verdween. Men kwam later een zeeman / drummer tegen met wie nu dit album is opgenomen wat verhaalt over het spookschip Mary Celeste.
Hotel Hotel - The Sad Sea
Hotel Hotel wordt door Silber Records als post rock / indie ambient neergezet, en dat is best een rake typering. Eerder werden hier al vergelijkingen getrokken met Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Voor mijn gevoel is het allemaal net wat minder heftig. Drums, violen, piano en gitaren zetten hier vrij rustige, instrumentale geluidslandschappen neer, die voor mijn gevoel inderdaad erg neigen naar shoegaze / ambient territorium. Op nummers als "Equator In The Meantime" of "The Dirac Sea (High Tide)" gaat men los, soort van, maar zoals gezegd blijft het allemaal vrij ingetogen, als golven die op een kust aanspoelen. Het album galmt en gonst en op het prachtige "The Shoreline Disappeared" zou ik zelfs het wordt "drijven" in de mond willen nemen. Rustige, soms wat melancholische, mood muziek neer. Muziek om bij in de branding te staan en eeuwigheid te overpeinzen. Ik merk dat het album mij als geheel niet helemaal weet te overtuigen, en mijn aandacht niet altijd vasthoudt. Tegelijkertijd is het er wel en vormt het heerlijke achtergrondmuziek. Voor mensen die niet vies zijn van wat experimenteler geluid en was rustigere en dromerige post-rock kunnen waarderen.
~ Ikecht

In "The Sad Sea" (nuovo lavoro degli Hotel Hotel) si percepisce tutto il profumo acido e fetido del Texas più brutale. Il Texas caldo che avvampa di mistero, e racconta le sue storie lancinanti. Gli Hotel Hotel percorrono le strade sconosciute di questa regione degli Stati Uniti d'America. Con la loro musica sanno, e possono, ricongiungere pensieri che provocano solenni stordimenti dell'umore. Post rock che mette i brividi, gela l'anima ed il cuore; ma scalda la mente. Sonorità lente e ben studiate, che avvolgono ogni singolo neurone del cervello. Questo è il post rock che avanza con le sue forti leve, questo è il post rock che si vorrebbe sempre ascoltare.
~ Claudio Baroni, Musica su Libero