New signees to Credential Recordings, Seabird plays a melodic pop/rock reminiscent of Coldplay, Leeland, and other piano and emotion-driven bands. Their debut album 'Til We See the Shore is twelve tracks of what equates to previously tread territory, but it is nonetheless an enjoyable journey.

Ironically, just one week ago, Coldplay's Viva La Vida released, and I had it playing before deciding to switch over to Seabird on iTunes for reviewing purposes. Unfortunately, I forgot about the switch, and continued on believing I was still listening to Coldplay, until soon coming to the conclusion that this new music just was not up to par with their previous work. And then I realized what I was actually listening to.

And maybe it was the accusations this week that Coldplay had ripped off some lesser known band's song (With so many sound-a-likes that have come along in recent years…the only real surprise is that it's taken this long for someone to make the claim)… but my patience with Coldplay-esque bands is wearing thin. Let's make something original, people. Sure, Coldplay is huge and incredibly influential, and it's hard not to be compared to them (Perhaps it is due to our lack of artistic scope as consumers that we so easily make the comparison), but even considering… it just all sounds done before.

And in all fairness, Seabird does have their share of masterful strokes, somewhat reminiscent of Sleeping at Last, that make for enjoyable listens. However, most of the time that they aren't drawing comparisons to bigger names, they are playing within the CCM lines, making music that sounds good on the radio, but just doesn't stand out on its own.

In the end, you get a mixed bag, and end up wishing that the stronger tracks (Songs like "Black and Blue," and the title track) were more representative of the entire release. When it's good, it's pretty darn good. But most of the time, you find yourself sitting there wishing it had just a little more kick. Hopefully the next time around, Seabird will dispel with some of the redundancies, and expand on their high points.

- Review date: 6/22/08, written by Josh Taylor