DARK MATTER

I find néo-prog boring, repetitive and univentive. Illuvatar, Pallas, Pendragon, Violet District, Carptree and lots of stuff by Marillion just turns me off. They all want to be Genesis so bad it's sickening. Get a grip for crying out loud. Boring and just sad.

So imagine my reserves to IQ, one of the main princes of néo-bore. And then, I'm here to say loud and proud that, as an Anglagard/ Gentle Giant/ Echolyn type of guy, I'm enjoying big time this piece of fine work. It's funny, it clicked so well at the first listen. Dark Matter really flattered the pop lover in me and got me curious of their song patterns.

First of all the voice of Peter Nicholls is much alike the one of Suede's Brett Anderson, one of the finest pop singers in UK. I had the album Head Music (5 stars) by Suede and Dark Matter is reminding me almost constantly the lightness and catchyness the record provided. The high pitched light voice, the organ keyboards and the guitar lines....everything seemed to fall into place to have a jolly good time intelligently. Sure, IQ is NOT the most challenging band around but this is why I love Dark Matter so much. When I want cool and super-catchy choruses, this is a very intelligent choice. Combines a certain amout of skills but stays accessible the whole time.

If I had to pick a néo-bore record and only one....this would be my numero uno. My first heart-shaped suggestion of 2005!