See Plus solidifies their spot as a staple to the New Jersey indie scene and beyond with debut album ‘Your Portrait’

Sep 30

Words by Olivia Stabile

Photos by Matt Keenan

The highly anticipated debut album, Your Portrait, from New Jersey’s self-proclaimed post-boyband See Plus can be best described as growth. While maintaining the elements that have earned the trio a loyal following that now surpasses the scope of the New Jersey basement show scene, See Plus has both evolved and matured with their audience.

See Plus kicks off the 10-track LP with "Cats Fighting (In Spanish)", a wispy track that likens to a gut punch when you really listen to it, transitioning into "Boat", a track that starts with a catchy acoustic riff and builds upon itself with punchy drums, bright synths, and a strong bassline.
The album picks up the pace with “2BIG”, a track that feels most reminiscent of See Plus’ noisy indie rock roots, and is bound to evoke a mosh in either a sweaty New Brunswick basement or a venue in the Lower East Side. The punch is continuously packed with the following tracks "Sleeping Through" and "3" before the trio slows it down again with "Weather, Man".
“A Settlement” opens with distorted strums and clean riffs that are broken up by cutting synths and a profession: “We may come to a settlement, We may end up on terms, I'm not sure if that’s what I'm looking for”.

The album is wrapped up with the nearly 6-minute track “Eatable Bugs”, a shoegaze-y track rich with harmonies and distortion and finished off with a thank you bound to make you chuckle.

Your Portrait is the body of work that puts See Plus on the map beyond New Jersey, and although the band has been contributing to the local scene since 2016, this album marks a new beginning for the trio. If you weren't on the See Plus train since the beginning, that's okay, but you might want to get on now, before they get "2big".