DREAM STATE: Charlotte Loseth (aka Sea Oleena/aka Charlotte Oleena) is the queen of her little sleepy-side beach town of soft folk and mild electronic waves. Her self-titled record, the follow-up to “Smudges”, opens with “Swimming Story”, a song that sedates despite its galloping pace. She writes music to get lost in, about forests at the bottom of the oceans, little armies in dresser drawers and ambiguous nesting birds making messes. Listening to Sea Oleena is like swimming far out into the ocean, and letting the awe and disquietude overtake you. She’s a seriously gifted singer and songwriter who writes lyrics like Joanna Newsom — full of dreamy creations, and wistful moods charming with faerie-like vision for microcosms and grace: “There is a forest on the ocean floor / There is an ocean on the Northern shore / The shoreline helps the ocean more …” Her voice is the the sway of the ocean. Her music is a journey through states of mind. “Cold White Sheets-Empty Bed” is an intoxicating opiate, using textures of record-player hiss and electronica before blending into an island-rhythm. “And” may be the prettiest moment on “Sea Oleena”, with its playful piano chords, floating and lonely in their lo-fi echo. But the track I play most is the indulgent 7-minute, “Little Army”. It’s basically a circular-folk song with elegantly picked guitar and splashes of electronic scraping noises. But its strength rests in Sea Oleena’s voice, and the orchestration of backing vocals gently hovering atop the song like cloud cover: “The crown on my head is glistening with the sky …” I imagine Sea Oleena is one of those artists who almost always begins with piano and melody, then works her way back — adding vocals layers, blips, and noises. Whatever she does to create this kind of music, it works. Note: Click here to go to Sea Oleena’s bandcamp page. — David D. Robbins Jr.
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