Winter At Sea - Hearts EP Review
Across one 20-minute release divided into five movements, the London collective Winter At Sea move between eerie stillness and mounting turbulence, producing their most assured and ambitious work to date.
The second instalment in a trilogy that began with 2024's Unfound, Hearts comprises the tracks "Glimpse Of The Horizon", "Heart In Mouth", "Gathering Dusk", "A Sleeping Mist" and "Descent Into The Undertow". The EP functions as a seamless musical journey rather than a collection of individual tracks.
Hearts [20:43]
- Glimpse Of The Horizon
- Heart In Mouth
- Gathering Dark
- A Sleeping Mist
- Descent Into The Undertow
Its opening moments sink you in with mysterious synth textures. There are echoes of Pink Floyd here, but Winter At Sea use those as a building block rather than a blueprint. A clean, gently resonant guitar introduces a sense of calm before tremolo-picked guitars, increased synths and crashing drums begin to surround it. The effect is gradual, building on tension and textural depth. That command of dynamic range to drive the narrative arc is Hearts' greatest strength.
After the first major surge, the arrangement recedes into an intricate weave of ambient detail and suspended tones. These quieter sections possess their own emotional turbulence, building tension with perfect combinations of low drones before slowly speeding back up for a climax.
A. L. Lacey's clarinet cuts through the serene ambience, bringing a vulnerability to music otherwise dominated by guitars, electronics and percussion. Rather than serving as a backing piece, the clarinet deepens its sense of isolation. The full ensemble then returns with increased urgency; Vincent Knight-Schrijver's percussion gives the music both muscle and volume, while the layers assembled by Chris Chapman, Grant Light, Andy Selby and Will Tomlins retain clarity whilst being densely packed. The closing movement, "Descent Into The Undertow", delivers the promised climax. As the guitars climb and fragment, percussion pounds beneath them as the synths expand the music beyond the dimensions of many rock arrangements. The collective's remote collaborative recording method is easily missed; Hearts sounds unified and instinctive, just like any other record with artists responding to each other in the same room.
Their DIY conviction extends to the EP's physical presentation. Released by A Cheery Wave Records, Hearts is available in limited CD and cassette editions, with hand-printed packaging designed by Richard Knox of Dark Peak Press. This release was created by a band openly resistant to the habits of contemporary streaming culture, joining a movement in the industry that is bringing back physical media and resisting the current state of the music industry.
Hearts rewards uninterrupted listening in a world where people will put their music on shuffle. Its patient construction, haunting details and enormous final release turn 20 minutes into a complete emotional arc that is incredibly immersive. You will find yourself noticing new elements with each listen, not realising 20 minutes has flown by. This is easily one of the best releases of 2026!
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