Released a week ago, In Dark Meadows… Chaos Reigns” is the very belated follow-up to 2004’s Blue Lips, Cold Kiss. So that took a long time, and an inevitable lineup change given the sixteen year gap (the EP being recorded in 2020 and funded by a Kickstarter). Taking up residence on the drum stool us CK Gillon, best known round these parts as one third of The King Lot who we bloody love. Tony Noble covers bass, while long-standing member Craig Costello (vocals, guitar) continues his role.
The older album had the band labelled firmly “grunge” and there are definite overtones of the crunchy, slow-paced genre here. However, there are plenty of flurries which reach out into good old hard rock and even metal. It’s not an EP to be contained tightly within a small box. What I like about EPs, especially those we’ve seen over the last year or so, are that they’re just the right size for a band to show their range and creativity without forcing themselves to drag out an extra few tracks to fill an album. Quality over quantity should always be the watch-phrase, and Battalion of Flies have hit the nail on the (c)rusty head.
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It’s of no surprise that the production is sweet as, given the experience amongst the band as well as the technical crew (Jamie Turnbull, Tommy Gleeson and Romesh Dodangoda who among them have worked with Motorhead, Feeder, BFMV and BMtH). Expect punchy drums, iridescent guitar notes and thrumming bass and you won’t be disappointed.
So what gems have these gentlemen polished up to serve us? Well, taking 2020 as a snapshot and the background influence for the lyrics, the songs are typically downbeat but realistic. To quote CK:
It contains very current themes such as the world being run by idiots, social media apathy, the global pandemic, living your best life because you only get one…
So don’t expect to be getting your party metal hats one. However, you can don your faded jeans, leather jacket and get your head nodding. While the pace is slow, as expected for the core genre, the hooks are firmly in place. “Clowns”, I feel, is aimed at the politicos and is a nice, churning opener. Bleak and angry, it’s full of atmosphere and swirling guitars and some fine wailing vocals. “Nothing After This” was the single released from the EP and have a jangly, punky feel to the guitars mixed with an almost rousing chorus. Careful, lads, we don’t want people thinking grunge is for happy people…
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“My Only Friend” is the quietest track, despite having a powerful chorus. The verses are pretty chilled out and Beatles-esque (in a trippy way) and it was this song that sold me on the aforementioned variety. It’s “Thoughts & Prayers” that sold the whole EP to me, though. I can’t pinpoint why exactly, but I think the pacing and the vocals/lyrics put it in the “highlight” slot.
“100 Days” rounds things up with some chugging riffs interspersed with more relaxed and airy sections. The two play off each other well, but I found myself just waiting for the heavy parts to kick in as the track progressed.
To label the In Dark Meadows simply as “grunge” would be doing it a disservice, not that there’s anything wrong with grunge. There’s just more going on here, and all of it’s good!
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