I’m a sucker for two things when it comes to music: darkness and interesting variety. Bright Light Fever is a band that combines these two aspects together seamlessly and the results a couple great albums, including 2006′s The Evening Owl.
The key to Bright Light Fever is lead singer/guitarist Evan Ferro. His voice is so unique and wonderful. It’s a deep and powerful bass baritone that has something that just makes it seem slightly sinister. The best way I can describe it is that Ferro sounds like he would have been Vincent Price’s favorite singer. His vocal lines add ambiance and mood to the music, something that few singers can fully pull off.
While the voice is enough to carry the The Evening Owl to some degree of success, the sheer assortment of musical arrangements brings everything together. It seems so many bands try to stay keep similar instrumentals in order to keep their own sound in tact, but Bright Light Fever is able to use tremendous variety and still have the songs retain a sense of unity.
Some songs like “Let’s Stay In” opt to use a dirty riff instead of chords for the verses. It seems so unfamiliar and blissfully inventive even though it was the staple of earlier generations of rock. Tracks like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Liver” are jangly and jerky and basically just pull the listener violently along creating a very desirable audio whiplash. Piano led tracks, such as “Crowded Street in May,” ring with the sound of some evil vaudevillian ghost piano. And there are even more tantalizing sonic changes where those came from.
The Evening Owl shows that Bright Light Fever is a band overflowing with talent. If you’re looking for dark music without going the goth or horror rock route or are tired of bands not branching out their own sounds check this album out.
Review Album: 7.8
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