Dark Soho - Light In The Dark

[Lemmiwinks]

 

1. Non stop to nowhere

2. Light in the dark

3. Aliens cream

4. The toy

5. Long way home

6. Away

7. Magic

8. All the brithness

9. Peace of mind

 

I hear that before Dark Soho were 3 guys and now one left so the new album released under the name Dark Soho is only the remaining 2 guys... and it shows... this has NOTHING to do with previous releases!! It's all happy vibes and cheesy melodies... where's the "dark" in "Dark Soho"??? All those goth guitars that made their sound distinct are now cheesy 80s rock riffs made to make people smile on the dancefloor...

 

Aliens Cream is the standout here, it reminds me a bit of their old style (well actually it reminded me more of older The Delta stuff ).

 

Long Way Home sounds like a mix between Dark Soho's "gothic psy" style and 80s synth stuff (Jean Michel Jarre and such), this feeling is probably given by the proeminent Moog that's on top. There's even a sitar in the mix with the electric guitar and the Moog!! I can't really decide if I like this track or not It does sound different to anything else that's been done before though.

 

And that's it... all other tracks could've just as easily been released under some other name cause they have NOTHING to distinguish them from the "typical" full-on that's being released these days!!

 

However there are also some nice downtempo tracks showing us a completely different side of their project. Non Stop to Nowhere has the trademark "goth guitar" and sounds like some breakbeat ambient... too bad it all goes to shit around min 4:00 when the beat becomes 4/4 and the track turns into some untinteresting full-on... why didn't they split this track in 2? It sounds like 2 completely different tracks "stuck together"...

 

Peace of Mind is my fave track here. It's downtempo and has a lot of sitars in it. Yes, overall it sounds kindof 80s new-ageish cheesy but I like it

 

Conclusion I was gonna say that I've never seen such a break in style for a group but then I remembered this years' releases by IM and X-Dream ... so in the end I'm not that surprised to see yet another group go for the cheese instead of staying true to their style. Ah well, as long as they don't add singing on top That said, there are 2 enjoyable tracks that remind the older style (probably unreleased stuff from before the 3rd guy left the group...) so it's not ALL bad However I definatley wouldn't buy their next album unless it's a donwtempo one... 6/10

[Manuser]

Well, a lot of people totally dislike this album. Dark Soho used to make dark and gothic psy, and this album is not dark as it was before. What's wrong? Seriously those days you can find plenty of psytrance albums worst than this. Of course, 5. Long way home is the highlight here, but some other tracks are pretty good, 3. Aliens cream, 6. Away, 7. Magic ...the bassline changed and became less dark, more full on. Except Long way home, there is no awesome track, but it is pretty decent psytrance, and I don't want to compare it with the 2 previous albums, their music evolved and I can't see the point of comparing this album to the old ones.

 

6/10 too.

 

 

PS : I like the cover very much.

[Jon Cocco]

DARK SOHO - LIGHT IN THE DARK

Wow, what happened?? And the lack of reviews. People avoided this thing and now I see why! Listen-- I'm all for positivity and higher consciousness. That said, Dark Soho is one-- well was anyway one of Psytrance's best DARK groups-- no more. This is NOT there style anymore. It's replaced with a lighter sound with far fewer interesting elements. Borderline TYPICAL Psytrance. Thanks to YouTube, you can hear the full album for free. Or save 70 minutes of your life. Some fans may be curious though.. like me, and oh man. I don't understand why the two remaining artists didn't create something more elaborate and memorable if they're inspired to do something less dark, more positive and wholesome (which I'm all for despite loyal Dark Soho enthusiasts. Just-- if you're going to do something different. Please, PLEASE make it good and worthy of the name!!!!! That said, I really like parts of this album, tracks even... but the album is inconsistent. 

Alien's Cream is darker than the others, like a track that didn't make the lats two albums, so they included it here. 

Track 5, Long Way Home is good. It's not dark, just surprisingly, different, catchy, shifting between agressive and somewhat beautiful. It's well done. If a track like this one is the new Dark Soho style, (and maybe some more downtempo tracks along with it) I can be content with that. However, on this album, it's a unique and interesting song surrounded by few others many people consider fairly good. Let's put it this way: With exception to the last one and Long Way Home, the "newer style" lighter-sounding songs sound typical, average, and boring. Dark Soho has always been talented in dark psytrance of course, so if they're going to make an album with some light, (or less dark songs) at least make them good songs. The first two, and last two tracks, BEFORE the final fairly good downtempo one, are just boring; bad.

I don't know if someone told Dark Soho that they need to repent for all the dark music they've made, with light music... but many people enjoyed and had many positive (full of joy, light) experiences with their talented dark music. Also, many fans were obviously most disappointed with this album because they remember Dark Soho a certain fold way it's no longer not. If Dark Soho isn't going back to DARK psytrance like before, they should seriously consider creating more solid songs like Long Way Home and Peace of Mind as opposed to typical, average, forgettable, cheesy fullon/trance sound. From reading message boards, forums, and feedback on several sites including their own, I've learned that many people who enjoyed their dark style before are done with them. Some people hope this third album is a fluke and the great dark style will return, but I don't care anymore. The belief therefore is that Dark Soho will gain new fans as it loses old ones, from the direction they've recently taken. However they've taken several new directions on the third album, one being somewhat different but fresh, the other being lazy, repetitive, boring, and uninspired, which makes up about half of Light in the Dark. It's their choice.

1. Non stop to nowhere ... CHEESY choir, male sample notes hurt an already weak, lazy opening. C-

2. Light in the dark ... This just sounds like typical full on. It's lame how bearly average this sounds. C-

3. Aliens cream ... First darker song on album is refreshing, but grows repetitive after intriguing intro. C

4. The toy ... More involved than previous three songs, fairly catchy and danceable. It's OKAY!  C+ / B-

5. Long way home ... The high point of the album. Solid song with memorable tunes and melodies!  B / B+

6. Away ... One of the better songs on the album but not as good as the last.  C+

7. Magic ... Cool Pitch Black movie samples, it's mostly fairly flat and repetitive however. C

8. All the brithness ... More Pitch Black samples? Sounds like flat, lazy full on. C

9. Peace of mind ... Different. They made a pretty good downtempo song. B-

In conclusion, there exists several pretty good songs on this album, those being Long Way Home, Away, Peace of Mind. Alien Cream. Unlike previous Dark Soho albums, the DARK element is in only traces here. Gone are the gothic choir, intensity, and screaming guitar riffs that made  their previous albums so sleek, stomping, and exciting. They seem to have put a good amount of time into several tracks, and got lazy or confused with others. Sigh. Why not just make a great album full of light and/or duality??! Some of these songs leave so much to be desired that you'd think this release was by a different artist/group entirely. 

Overall Grade/Score: ... C, maybe a C+

The album's on YouTube if you're curious..