Sparks in the Dark review - MadasHell Promotions

Having only formed in 2011 you would be forgiven for being completely surprised as the Bournemouth based band Empire Affair defied any negative pre-conceived notions of thoughts you may erstwhile have carried.

Comprising of Neil Tallant on vocals, Matt Park and Jack Woolston on guitars, Tom Parrett on bass and Darren Sheppard on drums Empire Affairs’ first release Red Light in July of the same year they formed stamped their intent on being a band to take notice of, and with their latest release Sparks In The Dark they’re making it even harder for you to ignore them.


Sunrise

With a surprisingly mature introspective sound the intro on Sunrise feels like it came from a band with a lot more years on under their belt than Empire Affair, the sound so confident in creating a space between the notes to appreciate what you are hearing not usually found until a bands third or fourth album.

The melody devilishly defies your expectations of where the song is taking you, a few chords here and a note there over an unassuming bass riff creating a build then slow release of tension that segue’s into the song proper in a way that feels like a tiger observing its prey until it feels the time is right to strike.

When the vocals kick-in they have a disarming honesty to them, each line sung with a passion of emotion .Like a modern-day Dylan vocalist Neil Talent’s voice has a power in its honesty; with a voice similar to James Dean Bradfield, Neil takes one step further in his delivery with a much more capable grasp of his instrument. They are fluid, emotive, never straining to hit a note they can’t hit or needlessly over singing the ones they can.

The whole song has a very commanding sense of itself throughout, the band putting into digital form a map of how to display your group’s control of the power it wields.


Tornadoes

Opening with a riff that could easily have been lifted straight out of Keith Richards back pocket Tornadoes is destined to become an iconic song of the times, capturing the mood and feel of the crowd it’s being presented before like none so far seem to have managed.

With an intro that straight away gets you in the mood for the bright lights and heaving rooms of a sweaty nightclub dance floor Empire Affairs bring their A Game to the chart singles table, slams it down before the panel of those whose opinion is meant to matter, and walks away to let them argue amongst themselves over whether there is a number higher than ‘1’ on the list.

The vocals are as soulful as they are expressive, every line in the song as likely to be the ‘line the crowd sings’ as every other line, the pitch and delivery spot-on in the ensuing drama created by Tornadoes.

The verse allows you room to breathe as the vocals take you through the experience, delivered with a magnificent powerful fragility that build to a gloriously hedonistic chorus of call/respond joining in moment guaranteed to turn any gathering of people into an experience.

And by the time the song fades out at and the world has slowed down and you have finally managed to catch your breath, the intro riff from all the way back at the start will still be ringing in your ears.

Which will explain the smile on your face.


One Night In Munich

With the drums breaking the silence you are caught on the magnetic hook of a guitar riff intro before an explosion of noise shatters your imagination and exposes you to an aural Pandora’s Box of promising indulgences to come; of an evening out in one of the darker sides of town, with people and sights and secrets you will uncover and discover and get caught up in, before waking up in the morning still exhausted from the previous evenings adventures.

The verse brings everything back in as the vocals start to show you the promises, a clear picture of that fabled night in question leaving you a voyeur in Neil’s story as it envelopes you without realising.

The drums are very much the heartbeat of this song, their urgency and pacing an exceptional way of projecting the listener into the very centre of the songs theme with an immediate understanding of how we are meant to feel.

The drums on the chorus turn this song into an anthem, their driving beat enforcing the cries of the vocals as the guitar riff lays a guiding hand through the emotions you are feeling, at every turn maintaining an understated energy that carries through to the glorious cymbal crashing end.


Can’t Get Through

Can’t Get Through presents you with an opening bass riff that like the White Rabbit of Alice In Wonderland conveys a feeling of urgency that demands you follow without question or stopping to think.

Moderated by a calming guitar note to guide you as you tumble along, the vocals start describing a world of insular misunderstanding and desire to reach out and feel a part of the world they find themselves in.

Breaking out of the intro, the vocals continue to expose you to the world of dark wonder around them, emoting with a heartfelt melody that express a genuine honesty behind the lyrics borne from an experience we can all relate to.

As a whole there is grandness to Can’t Get Through that reminds me of U2 in the middle of their stadium filling heights. With its unafraid stance of taking the listener past the usual noise and expected ear-filler of a four minute song Empire Affair have managed to create an epic-short that could bring a crowd of thirty thousand strangers together in a united display of lighters held aloft, each line of the song filling the air in a devoted stance of loyalty, of being ‘as one’ with the band, of being part of something bigger than the sum of its parts.

And for me, that sums up SPARKS IN THE DARK; on their own, the songs are a powerful mix of barely controlled chaos and an unspoken force that describes with clarity far beyond their contemporaries the images and stories they convey. Together, they present an unbelievable beginning in a group’s career.

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