Album Review: The Seshen – Cyan

Eclectic electronic pop

The Seshen is a band composed of seven musicians from Northern California’s Bay Area. Lalin St. Juste, the singer-lyricist and Akiyoshi Ehara, the bassist-producer are the two brains behind the project. Their vision and sound are a blend of R&B and synth-pop. Cyan is the group’s brand new, third studio album and the band themselves claim it’s their most eclectic sound to date. 

“Take It All Away ” is the opening track of the album and serves as a good introduction to Seshen’s signature sound with a prominent electronic pop beat. Continuing with the heavy electronica influence, “Faster than Before” is a song that has an unearthly quality and tone commonly heard in the world of electronic music, however, it’s accompanied by St. Juste’s R&B tinged vocals, making it stand out from the crowd. 

While the track “4AM” has the typical synth beat heard in The Seshen’s music, this song has a relaxed, beachy feel that is most likely influenced by their Californian backgrounds and is quite a unique sounding song.  

One of the singles currently released is titled “Dive” and has a little more focus on the vocals that are a blend of soul with indie-electronic. Although, the other released track, “Don’t Answer” is different because it drops the electronic sound all together for a soft acoustic guitar melody and hauntingly pretty vocals with slightly eerie lyrics to match, like “when darkness calls you don’t answer/ you don’t run” and “when dawn calls/ can’t open your eyes/ it takes you by surprise.” This song is definitely more reflective of what’s currently trending in indie-pop. 

The closing track is “Wander” which starts on a piano melody and morphs into a soft synth beat that has a very light, airy feel reminiscent of early ’00s indie-pop. It has an almost hopefully note to it. 

Cyan has a nice collection of a variety of sounds and genres, and while it is heavy on the synth/electronic beats, there is an array of R&B-esque vocals and indie-pop melodies to satisfy any casual listener. There’s a little something for everyone.