“After playing in scrappy garage rock bands for over a decade, I’m drawn to more refined musicianship.”
R.E. Seraphin
The latest from Oakland’s Take a Turn—which in the past year has released albums by Al Harper, Burner Herzog, and Katsy Pline—is Fool’s Mate, the second full-length by R.E. Seraphin. A steady march of kick and snare starts the album and rarely lets up, as Seraphin drives forward a head bopping indie pop record for the jangle heads. It’s not all lyrically led, as best indicated by the jammy instrumental track “Somnia,” but Seraphin’s hushed vocals largely predominate otherwise, singing about love and life while alluding to “skin, sweat, teeth, and breath” to suggest “something more ominous.”
Featuring bandmates that play in several other local greats (Sob Stories, Body Double, Reds, Pinks, & Purples, Chime School, Extra Classic) as well as multiple contributions by local artists Owen Adair Kelley, Hannah Moriah, Yea-Ming Chen, and Anna Hillburg, Fool’s Mate is another bright star in the constellation of Bay Area indie rock.
