Sea Power, previously known as British Sea Power, are a six-piece indie roc… Read Full Bio ↴Sea Power, previously known as British Sea Power, are a six-piece indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band hail originally from Kendal in Cumbria. Their style encompasses sweeping and often epic guitar pop with more visceral, angular and esoteric noises and instruments. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure to Pixies. They have released five albums and a number of EPs (most on Rough Trade) since they formed in 2000. The band is currently comprised of:

Yan (Jan Scott Wilkinson) - Vocals, guitar
Noble (Martin Noble) - Guitar
Hamilton (Neil Hamilton Wilkinson) - Bass, vocals, guitar
Wood (Matthew Wood) - Drum
Phil Sumner - Cornet, Keyboards
Abi Fry - Viola

Yan, Hamilton and Wood are school friends from Kendal in Cumbria. They were in a number of bands together while at school, but after finishing his exams Yan moved to study at Reading University, where he met guitarist Noble. A few years later Hamilton and Wood moved down to join them and form a band.

They played some gigs and produced a 4 track demo in Reading as British Air Powers, before relocating to Brighton in search of a more vibrant music scene. "British Sea Power" was actually the name of one of these demo tracks, and was eventually reworked into Carrion. In Brighton, BSP amassed a strong local following, due mainly to their own club night called "Club Sea Power". The club nights featured many different support bands, and other forms of entertainment such as a 1930s fashion show, and were most frequently hosted at the Freebutt and the Lift (the latter has now closed down).

Their debut single, Fear of Drowning, was issued in limited numbers of their own Golden Chariot label. The artwork for the B side "A Wooden Horse" borrows heavily from the dust cover of the 1950 book "The Wooden Horse" that details the escape of Allied POWs during WWII. Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records saw the band live and in September 2001 signed them to his label. A number of singles were issued on the label, and Eamon (Eamon Hamilton) was recruited to play live keyboards in autumn 2002.

The Decline of British Sea Power, the band's debut album, was released in June 2003 to critical acclaim. A single from the album, "Carrion", became the band's first Top 40 single. The album only charted in the lower reaches of the UK Album Chart, but turned out to be a word of mouth success, shipping well over 60,000 copies over the following two years and allowing them to play sell-out UK tours to venues of over 1,000 people.

The follow-up, Open Season, was released in early April 2005, and also enjoyed wide critical praise. It showcased a more accessible, produced sound and charted at #13 in the UK Albums Chart. Lead single It Ended on an Oily Stage charted at #18 in the UK Singles Chart a week earlier.

British Sea Power have a reputation for elaborate and well-thought out live shows and won the 2004 Time Out London Live Band of the Year award. The stage is often decorated with foliage and plastic birds and sets generally finish with a semi-improvised song called "Rock in A", which sometimes lasts for over 20 minutes. Various members often climb riggings and tear down the foliage, Eamon walks around the audience beating his marching drum, and a ten-foot bear, Ursine Ultra, occasionally makes an appearance - often taking a beating from various band members. This has become one of the signatures of the band. Their tours often include unusual venues such as the Scillonian Club on the Isles of Scilly, Grasmere Village Hall, the St. John Boste Social Club in Kendal, Cumbria and Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall.

The band have built up an eccentric image in interviews and press releases; some of which is based on fact, other times merely whimsical building of outward personas. This has included giving journalists grid references at which to meet them, and expressing obsessions with Field Marshal Montgomery and bird watching.

The band has a fiercely loyal and devoted hardcore fanbase, sometimes referred to as the Third Battalion.

At the beginning of 2006, it was announced that Eamon had left British Sea Power to concentrate on his own band Brakes. The group spent part of late 2006 working on new material in Montréal, and are preparing a DVD.

In 2007, American Laundromat Records announced that British Sea Power would record a version of the Pixies' "Caribou" for an album called "Dig For Fire - A Tribute To Pixies."

In October 2007, the band went on tour throughout the east coast of America to showcase their new 5-track EP, Krankenhaus EP. In November 2007, they toured a variety of unusual locations in the UK including a seaside cafe in Saltdean, East Sussex; a ferry across the River Mersey, Liverpool; the Tan Hill Inn, the UK's highest inn; All Saints Church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and White Mischief, an indoor festival mixing live bands with unusual vaudeville acts.

Their Krankenhaus? EP was released digitally for purchasable download in October 2007 and was released on CD and vinyl on November the 20th. Their third album, Do You Like Rock Music? was released on 14th January 2008 in the U.K. and scheduled for release on 12th February 2008 in the U.S. Prior to their tour in support of Do You Like Rock Music? (visiting Ireland, UK, Belgium, Holland, Germany and US), Wood injured his back and had to be temporarily replaced by Tom White of Electric Soft Parade and Brakes fame.

In January 2008 the keyboard and cornet player ended up in hospital after being knocked unconscious when he attempted a stage dive. The crowd at Leeds Irish Centre failed to catch Phil Sumner, who jumped off a 12-foot PA system landing head first. The press department at Rough Trade Records reported "The impact knocked him out. Thankfully an ambulance was quickly summoned and he was whisked away, bloody and unconscious and despite a concussion, a broken molar and a maze of stitches in his chin, a very groggy Phil is expected to make a full recovery." In spite of this, he returned to the stage with the rest of the band a day later in Kendal.

In February 2008, the band appeared on Later with Jools Holland, playing Waving Flags, Canvey Island and No Lucifer. They were ably accompanied by a small number of the London Bulgarian Choir and a display of Cumbrian wrestling. The band are also scheduled to play at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Latitude, T in the Park and Bestival.

In May 2009, British Sea Power released their fourth album, Man of Aran. Several tracks on this album are remakes of older songs, such as the main riff from North Hanging Rock which features in the new track Boy Vertiginous. The album comes paired with a DVD containing the Robert J. Flaherty film 'Man of Aran', a silent film with music from the album dubbed in.

In October 2010, British Sea Power released the seven track 'Zeus' ep and announced the release of their next album, 'Valhalla Dancehall' in January 2011.

In November 2011, the band started hosting a regular club evening in Brighton called "Krankenhaus" that recalled some of their Club British Sea Power events. DJ sets, friends of the band and general BSP hijinx.

On 9 August 2021, British Sea Power announced they were changing their name to Sea Power. In a statement the band explained:

"In recent times there’s been a rise in a certain kind of nationalism in this world – an isolationist, antagonistic nationalism that we don’t want to run any risk of being confused with. It’s become apparent that it’s possible to misapprehend the name British Sea Power, particularly if someone isn’t familiar with the band or their recordings. We’ve always been internationalist in our mindset, something made clear in songs like Waving Flags, an anthem to pan-European idealism. We always wanted to be an internationalist band but maybe having a specific nation state in our name wasn’t the cleverest way to demonstrate that. We very much hope the band’s audience won’t be affronted by this adjustment to the name. We’d like to make it clear that removing the word “British” does NOT indicate any aversion to the British Isles whatsoever. We all feel immensely fortunate to have grown up in these islands. Several or our songs are filled with love and awe for this place. We do love these lands. We all still live within the British Isles, but we are now just Sea Power. We feel the name change comes in part from the band’s audience – who at a good show will shout out, “Sea Power! Sea Power!” Maybe this name change has been there for years, shouted in our ears. It’s just taken us this long to realise – to hear what was there in front of us… "

Lights Out For Darker Skies
British Sea Power Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh lights out baby, for darker skies
There really is no reason that you need to ask why
When you fall like sparks from a muzzle

Like moths that get confused
By all the man-made moons
So go gentle in this dark, dark night

When something's wrong you know
It just ain't right

And you dance like sparks from a muzzle
And you fall like sparks from a muzzle

Welcome for the day or stay forever
There's things which we all need to navigate
Daisy chains of lights around the city now
They glow but never quite illuminate.

Hell and high water, won't stop us now
The future's twisted, righteousness is coming back around

Oh we fall like sparks from a muzzle

Unless two thousand and seven
Becomes a pitch black heaven
Oh stop acting like you're my best friend

When you don't know why and you don't care how it ends
And you dance like sparks from a muzzle
And you fall like sparks from a muzzle

Welcome for the day or stay forever
There's things that we all need to navigate
Daisy chains of lights around the city now
They glow but never quite illuminate.

So dance like sparks from a muzzle
So dance like sparks from a muzzle

And we were lit by kerosene
And we were lit by acetylene
And we walked under neon skies
You know it made me wonder why
Why all the frequencies combine
And form a cleaner, brighter light
And we filled our florescent sails
It led to sodium-scarred wailing weeks

Hey now now, oh the future's bright
Oh hey now now, a history of light repeat now now
Because you know it' right
Oh hey now now, a history of light repeat now now
Hey now now, oh the future' bright
Oh hey now now, a history of light repeat now now
Hey now now, because you know it' right
Oh hey now now a history of light
You know it's right
You know it's right
You know it's right

You know it's right
You know it's

Overall Meaning

In "Lights Out For Darker Skies" by British Sea Power, the lyrics speak to the idea of darkness and confusion. The singer talks of falling like sparks from a muzzle and moths being confused by man-made moons. The darkness is a metaphor for confusion and uncertainty in a world where we are constantly bombarded by new information and distractions. The city is described as having daisy chains of lights that never quite illuminate, meaning that we are always searching for clarity but never quite finding it.

Despite this confusion, there is a sense of resilience and optimism in the song. The lyrics speak of navigating through challenges and being able to dance like sparks from a muzzle, meaning that we can still find beauty and joy in dark times. The repetition of "hey now now" and "you know it's right" at the end of the song suggest a sense of unity and determination to move forward in the face of darkness and confusion.

Overall, "Lights Out For Darker Skies" is a song about navigating through uncertain times and finding hope amidst the darkness.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh lights out baby, for darker skies
Let's turn off the lights and enjoy the darker sky

There really is no reason that you need to ask why
There's no need to ask why; just turn off the lights

When you fall like sparks from a muzzle
You move like sparks when you fall into darkness

Like moths that get confused By all the man-made moons
Like moths, we get confused by artificial light sources

So go gentle in this dark, dark night
Be calm in this dark night

When something's wrong you know It just ain't right
When something's wrong, you feel it isn't right

And you dance like sparks from a muzzle And you fall like sparks from a muzzle
You move like sparks when you dance and fall into darkness

Welcome for the day or stay forever There's things which we all need to navigate
You can spend time with us for the day or stay forever, either way, life is a journey

Daisy chains of lights around the city now They glow but never quite illuminate.
Lights in the city create a beautiful image, but they aren't enough to illuminate everything

Hell and high water, won't stop us now The future's twisted, righteousness is coming back around
Regardless of the circumstances, we will keep going and make things right in the future

Unless two thousand and seven Becomes a pitch black heaven Oh stop acting like you're my best friend When you don't know why and you don't care how it ends
If things go horribly wrong in 2007, don't pretend to be my friend if you don't care about the outcome

Welcome for the day or stay forever There's things that we all need to navigate
Life is a journey with things we need to navigate, and you're welcome to join us

So dance like sparks from a muzzle
Dance freely like sparks falling into the darkness

And we were lit by kerosene And we were lit by acetylene And we walked under neon skies You know it made me wonder why Why all the frequencies combine And form a cleaner, brighter light And we filled our fluorescent sails It led to sodium-scarred wailing weeks
We've experienced different types of lighting and wondered why some are brighter and cleaner than others. The fluorescent lighting led to unpleasant situations

Hey now now, oh the future's bright Oh hey now now, a history of light repeat now now Because you know it' right Oh hey now now, a history of light repeat now now Hey now now, oh the future' bright Oh hey now now, a history of light repeat now now Hey now now, because you know it' right Oh hey now now a history of light You know it's right You know it's right You know it's right You know it's right You know it's
The history of light will repeat itself, and we know it will lead to a brighter future

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAN WILKINSON, JAN SCOTT WILKINSON, MARTIN NOBLE, MATTHEW WOOD, MATTHEW JAMES WOOD, NEIL WILKINSON, NEIL HAMILTON WILKINSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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