IT'S NOT AS DARK AS THAT, FRIEND

After a few nice exchanges around the time they released "featherhead", Motion Theory allowed me to preview their forthcoming EP "It's not as dark as that, Friend". Indeed not as dark as it may seem, this EP does contain far from light tracks. The band have evolved since featherhead, although the influences of bands like Radiohead will likely never disappear completely - and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Of the five tracks, I like "Sure it's chaos but it's ours" best. It's a powerful track, with the kind of bass work that I can especially appreciate - being a bass player myself. The contining high not riff on the guitar (or is it a synth?) keeps your attention focussed on the track. These high notes are also present on more mellow (but far from poppy or soft) tracks "Let's pave over the sea" and Dead reckoning. At first, they seemed repetitive, but they are different in every track. So far, Motion Theory has been able to use a style element like this without falling into what I would call the 'Coldplay' trap: making the element so dominant that all songs become interchangeable. Anima is an acoustic guitar 'ballad', which doesn't seem to really fit in with the other tracks. Could be good, could be bad - a bit of contrast never hurts, but to me it's not the highlight of the EP. One thing has to be said: at some point, halfway through the song, it reminded me of a very old Caravan song of which the title keeps slipping my mind. Finally, the slowly pulsating keyboards and slow vocals on Forgotten Girl lead to a good, almost psychedelic finale to the EP. The slightly distorted guitar that plays slow, sharp edged riffs over the main melody gives the track an almost post rock feel - but could also be inspired by the likes of the Velvet Underground (hail Lou Reed). The ending is rather abrupt, but somehow that fits in nicely with the psychedelic feel of the song. Once again, a good effort by a willing band. Maybe a spot at a summer festival would allow them to get some more attention. Promotors, why aren't you looking in their direction?

P.S. Now that the album details are here: compliments for the artwork on the cover.