East Yorkshire duo Seafret captivate on the soaring new single 'Wonderland', the title track from their forthcoming LP, out April 14th via Nettwerk
After returning earlier this year to deliver their wondrous new singles “Remind Me To Forget You” and “See, I’m Sorry”, the latter of which was playlisted on BBC Radio 2, Bridlington’s finest Seafret continue the support for their highly-anticipated third studio album ‘Wonderland’ with the soaring title-track.
Continuing to pursue more of that broad and euphoric energy they have been developing in recent years, ‘Wonderland’ makes for a beautifully adventurous addition to their newest full-length. Filled with rich and galloping aesthetics that elegantly reflect Jack Sedman’s shimmering vocal performance, this new offering sees them deliver one of their most captivating efforts to date
Adding about the new release, they said, "‘Wonderland’ was inspired by the nostalgia we occasionally feel about our younger years and how sometimes it would be nice if we could rewind the clock. The album as a whole is about coming out of a dark place and back into the light and has been an absolute joy to write, record and bring to life."
Marking their first full-length release since their 2020 sophomore LP Most Of Us Are Strangers, their newest collection looks to build upon the revived acclaim the pair received throughout last year. With their 2015 breakthrough effort “Atlantis’” earning a surprise viral run on TikTok, earning the duo their first UK Official Charts Top 40 single and 13 million Spotify monthly listeners in the process, this new release finds them in their most high-profile guise to date as they deliver one of their more euphoric and captivating releases so far.
Speaking about the new album, they said, "We are delighted to finally announce our third album, ‘Wonderland’. It has been an absolute joy to create. Some of the songs were inspired from being in a dark place and then finding the light again and things falling into place. We hope the positivity shines through. We think It’s the best album we’ve made so far and we hope you feel the same when it's released on April 14th”
Wonderland tracklisting
Never Say Never
See, I’m Sorry
Wonderland
Had Enough
Made Of Love
Summertonic
Solid Gold
Running Out Of Love
Remind Me To Forget You
Real Love Story
Inferno
Pictures
Seafret are also set to embark on an extensive UK and Irish headline tour in April this year. Tickets are available HERE, and you can see the full list of available dates below.
Seafret UK Headline Tour Dates:
April 17th Newcastle Cluny
April 18th Glasgow Oran Mor
April 20th Leeds Stylus
April 21st Manchester Gorilla
April 22nd Bristol Thekla
April 24th Portsmouth The Wedgewood Rooms
April 25th Brighton Concorde 2
April 26th London KOKO
April 28th Dublin Academy
April 29th Belfast Limelight 2
About Wonderland
Hope requires courage. Wonderland, the astonishing album from acclaimed duo Seafret, has both these qualities in spades.
The culmination of two years of graft by band members and longtime friends Jack Sedman and Harry Draper, this record is a sublime body of work that guides the listener through the band’s story, from heartbreak and loss to the joys of love and new life.
As soon as they landed on the title, Seafret envisioned the album as a story of darkness turning into light. “We’ve tried to find a balance on the album, so there are some songs that are about heartbreak and others that are really uplifting,” Draper points out. “Wonderland is us going out of our comfort zone a little bit, which has been amazing, and we find that when we do it, people love the music just as much.”
Seafret were in the midst of supporting the release of their second album 2020’s ‘Most Of Us Are Strangers’ during a tour of Europe, before their schedule brought them back to the UK for a string of homecoming shows. But this was brought to a screeching halt by the arrival of the pandemic. Live music venues were shuttered, the band’s tour was cancelled with three shows to go, and the duo felt as though they were back to square one. Draper was in Leeds, while Sedman was back in Bridlington: “I never ever in a million years thought I would end up back here,” Sedman says. And for a long time, they found themselves waiting. “It can get heavy on your mind,” Draper recalls. “You get in this dark space. But we just tried to carry on writing, and actually we’ve never been as productive as we were during lockdowns. And we’re really proud of these songs.”
Written while both Draper and Sedman were starting families with their partners, Wonderland demonstrates their remarkable talent for songs that delve into the full spectrum of human emotion. Take opener “Never Say Never”, a hearts-racing folk-pop song crafted from skittering percussion and romantic guitar licks that nod to The Police. “I was never good at giving in,” Sedman sings. “Keep fighting for an open door/ No I’ll never say never, no more.” On the chorus, his voice lifts to a dazzling falsetto, filled with resolve.
Recent single “See I’m Sorry” – a left-leaning pop track engineered by Grammy winner Dan Grech-Marguerat – was one of the last songs added to the album, as Sedman and Draper found their creative streak just kept going and going. “We thought the record was done,” Sedman admits with a laugh, “but we carried on writing…” The track serves as a mea culpa for “all of the little mistakes you make in life”, with the band calling up fans to get involved in the official music video. “It was such an amazing response,” he says, beaming. “They wrote down the things that they were sorry for, which took the edge of it just being me and Harry.” The fans were, of course, delighted upon learning they’d made it into the video: “It’s one of the best ones we’ve done,” Draper says. The hundreds of thousands of viewers who’ve watched the video since its release in January seem to agree.
Snapped up by a major label and moving to London in the early stages of their career, Seafret have since found their feet on their own terms. Yet it’s evident from Draper’s assured, lush production on Wonderland that they didn’t squander that time working with some of the UK’s most renowned producers, from Cam Blackwood (Florence and the Machine, George Ezra, London Grammar) to Steve Robson (Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Take That). “I think it’s really brave to have done that, because we’ve been through the major labels and we’ve worked with the great producers, and we still have connections with them,” Sedman says, praising his bandmate for taking the plunge. “Producing this record is how I’ve learnt the whole process, so it’s really special to me in that sense,” Draper explains. “When you put yourself in that vulnerable position, where you haven’t done something like that before, there are no limits. You’re not set in your ways. And that really helped, creatively.”
Listeners will likely pick up on the way songs such as “Remind Me to Forget You” evoke the dramatic cliff faces and desolate but beautiful landscapes of their coastal hometown. Haunting calls echo out across a grey sea of sparse piano, with Sedman offering up some of his most affecting vocal work to date.
“Running Out Of Love” addresses those relationships that don’t make it. Whilst “Pictures” was written shortly after Sedman and his partner discovered they were expecting their first child. He began to visualise what life would be like as a new father, and how he’d feel watching his son or daughter growing older. It’s a sentiment echoed on last year’s single “Hollow”, about the impact the loss of a loved one can have on the people they leave behind. Sedman wrote it right in the depths of lockdown, thinking about the grandparents he was unable to visit.
One of the duo’s favourite Wonderland tracks is “Made of Love”, inspired by a number of things but perhaps most of all the death of Sedman’s grandma. His voice is rough with grief, cracking with emotion as he reaches towards the heavens with a piecing falsetto. “When I listen to it, it reminds me of a close family, and of big starry skies,” he says. Draper’s piano riff offers an instant emotional impact, while guitar notes glimmer warmly like distant constellations. Single “Wonderland” is equally moving, but instead reflects the album’s overarching theme of emerging out of the dark and into the light. As Sedman puts it: “It’s about finally appreciating what you took for granted for so long.” Seafret believe this is their most meaningful work to date. Listen, and you’ll feel the same way, too.
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