Review: Exit Calm - Exit Calm

Rewind back to 2006 and Exit Calm hardly existed. Struggling local heroes that had yet to approach anything resembling the big time and, after a sudden break-up, lacking a front man and a leader.

But come screaming back into the present and Exit Calm are on their way up fast. They’ve found an excellent frontman in Nicky Smith and after releasing their self-titled debut last Monday (17th May), have set the bar high for this summer’s new music.

Happily for you dear readers, I am fortunate enough to posses a copy of this album and after a few weeks of digestion and appreciation, I’m going to share my thoughts with the (English-speaking) world.

The album starts as it means to go on (and actually how it is the whole way through) with six-minute opener You’ve Got It All Wrong which, from the moment the atmospheric guitars home into view, is a pounding and ethereal journey through musical space. The album is produced to the bands strengths (by UNKLE collaborator Paddy Byrne don’t you know) and forms an integral part of the overall sound of the album, which is evidenced on this first track. Not only does the song stand out, but the way guitars drift across the mix and wash into the drums is something that really enhances it. Many parts pay only fleeting visits but it’s these extra attentions to detail that expand the song and pull you in.

When You Realise is a ballad of sorts (it’s a bit slower) that recalls Ocean Rain era Echo & the Bunnymen and one of my personal favourites, Reference, is a powerful and intense song that has all the good flavours of The Verve and Mainly Genius stalwarts The Boxer Rebellion, but with a kind of downward pressure that makes the listener really sit up and take notice.

However, Exit Calm are a smart band and it’s no coincidence that current single Hearts and Minds is the outstanding track from the album. It’s got the strongest melody and is the track where everything seems to click into place. The bass and drums anchor the song and form a concrete base on which atmospheric guitars dart and cascade under Nicky Smith’s floating melody. He declares “It’s a fight between your heart and mind” as the song gradually comes to a raucous conclusion that serves up massive drums and huge guitars in spades.

One criticism that has been levelled at the band is repetition. There is a very set and rigid sound that they’ve adopted and a departure from the constant drums might’ve helped to break up the album and bring it back down to Earth. To be frank though, I’m not sure I really agree with that especially considering the beautiful (and yes, atmospheric) closing track Serenity. Exit Calm is what it is and that’s an atmospheric, powerful and ethereal journey of great songs. If you’re expecting variety then that can be found elsewhere.

Like many before them, Exit Calm will probably be declared Britain’s latest great band, but this time there could be a small grain of truth hidden away somewhere in that statement. The album they’ve produced is a fantastically epic and atmospheric journey through space and shows a real knack for melody and a confident and slightly unique sound that really deserves success. If you’re a fan of Interpol, Editors or any number of similar bands I urge you to give this album a go, you won’t regret it.

Exit Calm are on tour throughout the summer and you can find tour dates and purchase the album on their website or myspace. If you head to the Mother-Blog on Wordpress, you can hear current single and album highlight Hearts and Minds and also the beautiful closer Serenity.

Review: Editors – In This Light And On This Evening

Ok, try to picture the scene. You’d burst onto the music scene with your critically acclaimed debut album, you’d then followed that up with a shiny, well-produced second album and now you need to release a third one push up to the next level. What do you do?

Well if you’re in Editors, you break out the synths and release In This Light and On This Evening.

Unfortunately, the 80s revival doesn’t come together quite as well as planned and often lacks the power and melody of previous efforts. Lead guitars are mixed lower, drums are less intense and despite lead singer Tom Smith’s best efforts, the songs are ultimately suffocated by the need for retro sounds.

However, it’s by no stretch a bad album and it’s clear that this a band who aren’t happy to produce the same material over and over. Title track and opener In This Light and On This Evening has an aggressive, almost dirty bass that drives the song and results in what is arguably one of the finest Editors track to date and first single Papillon features an uplifting chorus that could have happily featured on more mainstream second album An End Has A Start.

Other highlights include the industrial darkness of Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool and album high point Bricks and Mortar, one of the rarer times when the lo-fi sound really gels with the band’s passionate style.

All too often however, In This Light and On This Evening sounds incomplete and feels more like a collection of experimental demos rather than a new direction for the band. Beneath the layers of retro noise, ballad The Boxer has a real fragility about it that is suffocated by the need for a synth at every opportunity and a lo-fi drum sound that has all the musicality of somebody sneezing.

Similarly, Walk The Fleet Road is overpowered by the use of electronics and although it doesn’t feel as forced as The Boxer, it still sounds muddy and again suffocates Tom Smith’s vocal melody.

Overall In This Light… is an album from a band in transition and is bold step, but ultimately one that doesn’t do the band the justice they perhaps deserve. It has some chilling moments of darkness and Editors should be applauded for pushing themselves and their sound in new places and nearly making it work. Deep down inside is an impassioned beast waiting to emerge with what this album could have been, had the balance been struck.

Editors will be more successful, that’s for sure, but with In This Light and On This Evening as the necessary stepping stone, true success won’t come until next time around.

Visit them - http://www.editorsofficial.com

Or buy on iTunes