At this point it’s an understatement to say that Sydney’s SEIMS has a diverse discography, even within the relatively limitless scope of post-rock, math rock, and progressive music. The group has touched on all of that and more, but it’s not just the diversity that we find ourselves celebrating every time SEIMS puts out an album – it’s the intention.
Funny enough, every record up to this point has an offshoot, even a juxtaposition, of the elements of whichever came before it, almost forming something of an anti-formula. This adds more than a hint of irony to the fact that SEIMS albums are titled chronologically / sequentially, because the journey has hardly been linear, but it also preserves the element of surprise, which the group has always used to their advantage.
This time though, V sees them turn a corner and consciously bring lessons from each previous album into a single continuum. When you think about all the ground they’ve covered, you’d think the sonic scope of something like that would be massive, and of course it is – it wouldn’t be SIEMS if it wasn’t. But it’s also their rawest, most vulnerable record to date, and surprisingly those were qualities that ended up making V one of the most rewarding listening albums of 2025:
SEIMS often gets lumped with the post-rock tag, which we wouldn’t necessarily spend too much time arguing over, but they’re one of those bands that could proudly fly the elusive post-prog flag with how intricate their sound really is. In fact, we should also concede in the same breath that math rock does about as good a job as explaining SEIMS’ sound – there are elements of both, and a lot more, but the band is so good at embodying universal human emotions that any genre tag leaves a lot out.
“The only true thing I care about in the world is growth. If we’re not trying, we may as well not be trying at all. SEIMS has always had this at the core – try and do something I can’t. Play drums. Play piano. Mix an album. Sing lead vocals. Arrange an entire orchestra. Cross-pollinate as many genres as possible. Write a concept album. Play something in 14/8 but make it groove as if it were 4/4. Try to be a better musician. Try to be a better composer. Try to creatively push myself, and my skill set, with every release. Try to make the uncomfortable, comfortable.
And now being a father to a gorgeous, independent, witty joker – “trying” has so many new meanings. It’s about being able to be on the same plane as someone who has literally only experienced this planet for a mere four years. It’s also about dealing with your own inner demons in a mature manner – trying to role model not just who you are, but helping your child see who they could be.
Flowing Upstream is exactly this. Getting thrown into the deepend of the worst, and trying to embrace it – ending up somewhere new. Abandonment is Expected is all about dealing with the unintentional abandonment of thought from a child – constantly having the stream of consciousness change right before your eyes – and trying to make sense of the why. My Memories Retain Nothing is all about trying to undo the faults of our parents and grandparents. And Forever the Optimist – well, it’s all in the name, isn’t it? – Simeon Bartholomew
V also has a fairly distinct arc that reminds us of their earlier records and how they’d intentionally sequence and group songs. The first half runs up an energy tab with surprise gang vocals, walls of fuzz, and buzzing synths, but the second half steadily strips things back while opening up the dynamic even further. It doesn’t lose any power of course, and it’s still as joyful as anything they’ve put out on songs like “Abandonment is Expected,” “My Memories Retain Nothing,” and the sad-to-ecstatic epic that is “End’s Tether.” There’s just this palpable sense of heightened emotional momentum all the way up to precious closer “A Moment Never Returned.”
If there’s any comparison to be made for V in particular, for us it’sMogwai‘s Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will or Les Revenants eras, which are our favorite ones. That being said, we’d be remiss not to mention We Lost the Sea‘s Tim Carr and Alex Wilson of sleepmakeswaves also helped engineer and mix V respectively, so cinematic heights were to be expected. We just weren’t completely prepared for how those heights were exceeded.
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