Sands Once Seas

Drawing on Dag Nasty's 1988 classic Field Day, as well as modern emo rockers like Taking Back Sunday and Thrice, Seattle's Blue Sky Mile — named for the 1990 Midnight Oil disc — delivers powerful, intricately designed songs on Sands Once Seas. "Second Impact" gets things started, as Kevin Burrell's charging guitar interlocks with Aaron Fishbein's. Meanwhile, vocalist Jerry Kansky has a powerful mouth, one that isn't unlike Thursday's Geoff Rickly. Turning on a dime from calm to chaotic on standout tracks like "Susan Delgado" and "A Sky Full of Desert Stars," the latter track's slow-building arrangement allows Blue Sky Mile to really take flight, giving its rhythm section of bassist Mike Elliott and drummer Adam Fream the opportunity to demonstrate their individual wares. If the quintet regularly displays an affinity for both punk and indie rock, it never really takes full ownership of either. And that's a good thing, as evidenced by the compelling amalgam of styles on "Never Say Die." ~ John D. Luerssen, Rovi