Band to Watch: Seafret

If I could steal anyone's voice, I might pick the multifaceted tones of Seafret's Jack Sedman. It's textured: gravelly but still pure. It's emotive: effortlessly moving between passionate belts and delicate falsetto. (I mean, this is a folk band that covered Bring Me the Horizon.) It's perfectly accompanied by the guitar stylings of Harry Draper, the other half of Seafret's soulful folk. The duo have just released debut album Tell Me It's Real, and mark my words: you'll be hearing Sedman's voice a lot this year.

I don't quite remember when I first heard Seafret, but the band's Oceans EP is filled with gems (most of which have found their way to the LP). The titular track is, for me at least, the real standout: especially in its acoustic form, 'Oceans' is raw, lovely, and perfectly crafted. 

The skillful songwriting that helped define their EP is just as present on Tell Me It's Real. First single 'Wildfire', inspired by that crazy 'love at first sight' experiment, is destined to spread like—well, wildfire. The album is jam-packed with radio-ready tunes, like the catchy 'Beauty on the Breeze', or the lilting 'To the Sea', which features lovely vocals from Rosie Carney.

But not in a bad way. I'm the first to run screaming from songs that sound overly commercial; Seafret somehow has that polish, that accessibility, without losing authenticity. They're master craftsmen, talented performers, and have created an all-around enjoyable folk album.