By Limbo Lake, the debut album from Seabellies, features rustic and yearning vocals, euphoric harmonies, wiggly guitar leads, warm keyboards, clattering percussion and a there’s even strings, horns and glockenspiel to be found.Plucked from their hometown of Newcastle, following an impressive win at the Garage To V competition in 2007, Seabellies have enjoyed a slow rise to national attention over the past four years, releasing a series of well-received digital singles that have enjoyed airplay on Triple J and have ensured regular billings at some of the country’s biggest music festivals.With good reason too: advance singles Young Cubs and Armour recall the most appealing elements of Arcade Fire with their soaring string solos, a bit of The Strokes with their crunchy opening guitars and drum beats, and even shades of Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear when the songs hit their soulful, harmonic vocal breakdowns.While there’s nothing remarkably original to be found here, the strong pulse running through their busy-yet-precise compositions ensures there’s a warm familiarity to their sound which is sure to please fans of their better-known indie-rock contemporaries.A remarkably engaging and polished debut, By Limbo Lake stands as an incredible first step for what is sure to be an incredible band.