‘Dark Adapted Eye’ is about three songs off being an all-time classic album – it’s that damn good. Some of the songs on this record, released last year on Firefly Recordings, are so damn good that it’s a crime the band aren’t as well known as they should be. Mixing a blend of well crafted rock with a healthy slice of emo, Otherwise have carved out a super little record which will appeal to many a contemporary music fan.
Coming across like their American counterparts in Park and Brandtson, Otherwise have a timeless feel to their songs. Vocalist Chris Coleman manages to have a voice that forever seems to hit breaking point, while the guitars and drums crash all around. But it’s the songs that really do the talking on ‘Dark Adapted Eye’ and make it one of last years best UK releases. ‘To Keep Me Here’ is simply awesome, such a fantastic gut-wrenching way to start the record, combining a powerful and driving guitar line with a melodic vocal which although not immediately accessible, will have you tapping along in no time.
The bar is raised a notch further with the sublime ‘Tropic Of Capricorn’ which is literally an emo kids wet dream, a track which will see the recently dumped opting for shares in Kleenex. The true genius about this band is that none of it sticks to any tried and tested forumla, yet everything has enough of a familiar appeal to hook you right in. There are equal doses of emotion and rock with the backing vocals really lifting the chorus. The harsher ‘Not Ashamed Of Stealing’ carries things on with a fantastic guitar riff, before the album’s title track hints at a despair and loneliness that many bands attempt to convey yet get stuck within a cliched tale. The line “help is engraved in blue tinged ink upon my bony arm” is cleverly retold within the song.
The acoustic ‘Magnetic South’ is fantastic, a real lighters-in-the-air moment that again combines that tug of the heartstrings with an excellent melody. There’s even what sounds like a cello or violin thrown in just to make the mood even more reflective. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous song that just begs to be heard. ‘The Rest Is Silence’ is the first song that doesn’t immediately stand out and even with programmed effects filling in the breaks, it’s the first moment were the band lose their own identity. ‘Further From Circumstance’ is much better, although it does hint a little at some of the earlier songs. On first listen you could be forgiven for asking if you’ve heard it before. But as the old adage says, ‘if it ain’t broke…’
The only downside is that some of the songs do sound a little similar and this is what costs the band that half star. ‘One Third Empty’ again doesn’t really stand out while ‘Conversations Spent’ again uses a guitar tone that seems a little too similiar to those used before. Having said that, ‘Dark Adapted Eye’ is as good a UK release as I’ve heard in a long time and shows that the homegrown emotional bands can play just as hard as our buddies across the pond.
If this record was as consistently brilliant as the first five or six songs Otherwise would have an all-time classic on their hands. Unfortunately there are three of four songs that pass you by slightly, bringing the overall quality down. Needless to say, ‘Dark Adapted Eye’ is a stunning record that truly captures the essence of what emotional music is all about.
Paul