User:Solace II/CotSalbum

Untitled

Child of the Sea is the eponymous debut mixtape by Sierrian music project Child of the Sea. It was released on December 7, 2011 in Sierra. Entirely written and produced by Dorian Robertson, the mixtape was primarily recorded at Clipping Recording Studios in San Francisco City from September to October 2011, though writing and early recordings of the mixtape were made as far back as 2010.

Physical copies of the mixtape were released on vinyl and CD, with Robertson selling the copies from the trunk of his car in San Francisco City. Though the mixtape would under-perform, it would receive largely positive local reviews and get casual radio-play, leading to Child of the Sea securing a recording contract with Avocado Records in February 2012. In January 2016, alongside the project's debut album Glass Valleys, the mixtape would be re-released onto all streaming platforms and would feature two bonus songs, "Escape" and "Fortunately".

Background and recording

After the release of Glass Valleys, Dorian Robertson would officially form the music project Child of the Sea. After dropping out of the University of Sierra, Robertson held a minimum-wage job that involved cooking and washing dishes at Shirley's restaurant in San Francisco City for some time. Inspired by an experience from The Landing's Dark Side of the Moon album while on LSD, Robertson would begin writing music for the mixtape.

Composition and lyrics

Child of the Sea incorperates indie rock, neo-psychedelia, and experimental rock. Robertson cites The Landing's Dark Side of the Moon album as the mixtape's reference point, though elaborated that he "wasn't trying to re-create the direction entirely, but to use the direction to make [his] own type of sound". The album incorporates Robertson's falsetto, as well as a vocoder.

The first song, "Off The Wall And Into The Sea", is rock song that builds to a loud climax. Roberton explained that he recorded the song when he was in a period of "hyperactive mania". "Submersion" is a song Roberton claims he does not remember making it, stating that the early recording sessions for the mixtape were done while he was heavily intoxicated, and that after a car accident nearly killed him in July 2011, he decided to change his recording style and 'restart' the recording process, with "Submerson" being the only song from those original sessions.

The third song, "Lover", depicts the feeling of being cheating on in a long-distance relationship. The fourth song "Way Too Long" features lyrics of lonliness, and transitions into the following song, "Ghost", which expresses self-doubt. "Wondervisions" contains multilayered arpeggiated guitars and electric piano, and is a transition point in the mixtape, lyrically and instrumentally, with the second half of the record exploring featuring elements of neo-psychedelia and experimental rock. The song "Flying High" features a looped sample from Forrest Jackson's song "Boy", as well Robertson incorperating an old Roland SH-2 synthesizer onto the track. The song "Brink", released previously on the Lucid Dreams EP, would be the eighth song on the mixtape. The song "Dead Water", eschews a traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, with the song being split into three sections. The song was written when Robertson's "hit rock bottom", and is auto-biographical. Backed with a looped string arrangement, it is among the band's longest songs. "Dead Water" would later peak at number 24 on the Sunset Hot 100 upon the mixtape's re-release in 2016. "Dead Water" transitions into the final song "Redeemer", which Robertson described as "Sort of a love song, a happy ending".

Release and reception

Child of the Sea would receive critical acclaim from music critics in the years following the mixtape's release, though at the time would receive largely positive reviews.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dorian Robertson.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Off The Wall And Into The Sea"	5:21
2.	"Submersion"	4:46
3.	"Two Lovers"	0:57
4.	"Way Too Long"	4:12
5.	"Ghost"	5:20
6.	"Wondervisions"	3:44
7.	"Flying High"	4:25
8.	"Brink"	3:41
9.	"Dead Water"	6:13
10.	"Redeemer"	4:57
Total length:		34:37

Re-release (2016)

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Escape"	4:17
12.	"Fortunately"	5:01