poppedmusic

Dark Eyes

Released 1st July 2013

Yet again I’m totally guilty of spending too much time listening to an album and not enough time putting fingers to keys to type this out. For weeks Half Moon Run’s album Dark Eyes has been spinning and spinning over and over in my car stereo. Day after day I’ve been getting to grips with the intricacies that can be found hidden away where you might least expect them. Day after Day I’ve found myself becoming pulled deeper into this album, singing along, tapping the steering wheel, feeling the energy and the passion and desperation that all pours from this album. That’s why this album review is late.

In fact because I’ve listened to it so much I can’t even tell you without looking which song comes first and to me that’s always a great indication that an album has been put together perfectly, although sometimes track punctuation can be good depending on the theme of the album, with this one it’s not required and so it’s ease of listening means you can start it anywhere.  Now I’ve just looked and can tell you that the first track is Full Circle, one of the singles lifted from the album.  It’s a reasonably paced opening number  that really grows in every way possible with really punchy percussion and a massive wall of sound once the guitars  all build up. The guitar picking is what’s really catchy at the start here and the exorcist inspired lyrics don’t get lost either especially with the tribal like drumming. Creepy!

After two punchy tracks Half Moon Run introduce something more subtle and a touch darker with No More Losing The War. The pace really has changed but the guitar still builds up out of no where creating swirls of unease and then there’s the acoustic guitar being delicately picked and plucked into an almost contradictory sound of calm.  For the most part the lyrics are sung softly, almost lullaby like, which really adds again to the feel of unease. Then there’s this one burst of power giving a real element of desperation and emotion to the track. Every time I hear it it really hits me and makes the song all that more emotive. Another slow song isn’t far behind but this time there’s a very different feeling, a love song can be found in Need It. Long gone is the uneasy whisper, this has a slower sexier texture and tone helped enormously by the accompanying strings. The harmonies here are sweet and the high notes sweeter. I think I get lost in this song the most. The temptation to hit repeat time and time again is really there but then the opening of Give Up  is just so darn catchy that I never quite get to the button in time.

There are more slow songs on this album than up tempo ones but the placement of those quicker moments really allow the album to spend time in contemplation with those slower numbers. One of my favourite tracks on the album that really has a bit of bite is Drug You. The persistence of the repetitive drums  and overly short guitar riff might drive some people insane but I find it a clever concept in that it is actually quite memorising. The mini chant that runs in and out of the track also adds to that other worldly, out of your head, out of sorts, room spinning feel that this track really does well to convey. I have to admit that when driving it makes me want to put my foot down a little more than I might perhaps should, but only on the open road.Another song that also makes me want to do this is She Wants To Know. The snappy percussion, those enigmatic guitar whirls and that thumping bass (especially in the bridge), this is a track worthy of a stadium. The louder I play this the better it sounds, the piano pitches in with some really nice high notes against the heavy set drum/bass/guitar combo toward the end and then as if it had never been there it all ends. In fact it wouldn’t go a miss on a Twilight soundtrack (yes really).

For a début album by a bunch of guys so young Dark Eyes is really exciting because who knows where they can go from here. I feel like predicting the difficult second album might not be so hard for them somehow. I don’t know why I think this, it’s just a feeling in my bones. I expect greatness, after all, they’ve already given nothing less than that from the get go.

Watch the video for Full Circle here: