Arrays - Single Review: Obsidian Oceans
I can’t believe it is more than a year
since I wrote about JP’s last album, Light Years, but it was and now
here he is with the new single from the forthcoming third album, Patience
Way. Arrays never sound like the work of just one man but always come
across as a full band, which says a great deal about the skill of the person
behind it all. Drums are often the element which fail in a project like this
but here JP has them nailed down to provide the right amount of aggression,
with the guitars and bass often tied together. There is actually quite a lot of
guitars overlaid here, with most of them tied in with the bass to create a really
crunchy bottom end and then there is another adding additional notes at the top
of the neck to create a Muse-style feeling.
Right from the off one is brought deep inside the world of the hook, the melodic almost poppy mentality which combines with hard rock, which if it was turned up a notch further would be very close indeed to the amazing Wildhearts. One can imagine JP and Ginger having conversations about the best way to confuse people is to produce something that is obviously aimed at a heavy audience but is full of pop twists and melodies. At a little over two minutes, one thinks the song may be finishing but instead we get taken into a new section which is just slightly more downbeat which allows JP to come back with some real aggression. The double-tracked vocals add presence throughout, and the result is another well-crafted number from Arrays which takes us on a journey of emotions and styles while always staying true to its underground indie melodic hard rock heart. Solid.
About Arrays
The new album Light Years is a tour de force of melodic, guitar heavy, metal-infused rock. This record is proudly independent, self produced and funded, and another way point on the journey JP is on to achieving the sound he hears in his head.
No Way Out presents a visceral, aggressive aspect of Arrays, driven by a palm muted riff, before the syncopated, stomping bridge lands. Little Blue Dot reveals a softer side, until the anthemic final chorus. Home is a twisted time capsule for our shared experience in lockdown, and the title track sets off the record with introspective lyrics and an arrangement big and wide enough to carry them.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Arrays
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