It’s not every day that a debut album comes to the forefront of its genre with as mellow a demeanor as Sea Change, but that’s exactly what Corey Stapleton and The Pretty Pirates’ first release as a band seems to be dead set on accomplishing. Now, for some, the name Corey Stapleton might ring a bell: not in music, no, but Stapleton is already a celebrity of sorts having been a state senator and Secretary of State out of Montana. On top of that, he’s a veteran, and now, an accomplished country music star — I don’t know about you, but the first word that came to my mind after this little discovery was “Wow.” Talk about a life well lived! Well, if Sea Change is any indicator, Stapleton is only getting started, and what a start it is.
I’m not sure what music I was entirely expecting from a veteran, but to be dealt something as serene and certain as Sea Change was a welcome breath of fresh air. Having grown up in a military household myself, there was a lot of heavy metal tossed around and I feel like most veterans would feel enticed to enter the musical fold in such fashion. Stapleton seems keen on defying expectations, and by defying the odds, he’s given audiences a truly human experience within Sea Change as it functions entirely as a soft-rock country album. Songs such as the title track “Sea Change” and “As The Crow Flies” give the strongest impressions of Stapleton’s softer influences, and a personal favorite comes with “The Pen,” an endearing love story about seizing your life trajectory.
A majority of the album’s twelve tracks fall into easy listening, but the less-expected outliers are as impressive as they are enticing: “My First Rodeo. Not.” is perhaps the most out of place song as it pivots from the soft melancholy of “The Darkest Part” to something entirely out of the modern country aesthetic with its almost outlaw rock approach, and “Kabul’s Fallen” comes in at almost twice as long as any other song on Sea Change as it shifts headfirst into progressive rock territory in its composition of shredding guitars, cold piano keys, and narrative-driven lyrics. “When the reaper returns with a vengeance, the ostrich acts like he’s not to blame,” is not a lyric most would expect from Sea Change after hearing the album’s first half but the epic track seems to function as a therapeutic way for Stapleton to encounter his place as a veteran.
There’s not a lot to say about Sea Change that will do the album justice as it more or less works best when it’s speaking directly to the listener, but Stapleton’s life experience exudes from all twelve tracks as a way to reflect, educate, and dictate his personal history, so I guess capturing the entire project in one go is a tall ask. Sending listeners out on “New Me” works as a perfect album closer, tying Sea Change together effortlessly and seemingly giving Stapleton and the band a sense of closure with their first musical outing. When you’ve lived a life as eventful as Corey Stapleton, recording a country album truly does just feel like the most sensible thing to do next; making it as good as Stapleton did on his first go around, however, might take a few tries.
Heather Savage
