Grin and nod your
head along on your way down the street heading home from work on a rainy day,
cry over a glass of red wine, and perhaps even have an existential revelation
while listening to the British Sea Power’s fourth album, Vallhalla Dancehall.

Formed in 2001, British
Sea Power, a five-piece indie rock band based in England and Scotland, has
managed to create a hauntingly beautiful album as comforting as a curling up
with your favorite old book by the fire on a snowy day, but reminds you of past
trials and tribulations, while
showing you something new and original at the same time.

 One of the best tracks on the album is “Once
More Now,” and is longest track on
the album at 11 minutes and 44 seconds. It finds a way to be gripping for the
entire length of the song, as it changes tone about seven minutes in. It has an
eerie, yet reassuring transcendent sound to it, and seems to tell a story of
someone who has finally come to terms with his or her life as it is. With
lyrics like, “Won’t you take my hand if your heart isn’t broken/Once more now,”
this track gives us all faith that everything will really be okay in the
end. 

Another highlight
is “Living is So Easy,” with its simple repeated lyrics of “Are you going to
the party/Everyone is going to the party?” Yet, later in the song the lyric
“Dying is so easy,” a phrase that could be missed upon the first listen to the song,
hints at a deeper message.

The only flaws
that can be found within this album are in “Mongk II” and “Stunde Null,” which
at times manage to sound more like pure noise rather than actual music.

With album titles
like “Baby” and “Observe the skies” The entire album hints at and mocks the
overly simple way that we live our lives. It is angry and unbearably sad at
times, yet is moving and uplifting at others. It seems to warn against just
letting life pass us by. British Sea Power’s Valhalla Dancehall challenges us to think, live and just let
everything be okay, for once.