Review Summary: Despite its minor kinks, Dark Nova is overall an excellent listen from start to finish.
If there is one thing I hate nearly as much as an album filled with mediocre music, it's an EP filled with great music. Strange, maybe? Well, in order to get an understanding for what I am speaking of, take a listen to Spider Island's latest offering,
Dark Nova. This EP is a catchy slab of progressive hard rock that makes me sad that EPs are meant to be short. Improvements from their last effort,
The Witch and the Dragon, are apparent right off the bat: production, vocals, musicianship in general. The instruments pose a great mixture of punk rock and early-stage Foo Fighters-esque post-grunge music to form a sound not quite groundbreaking or unheard of, but still unique. You can really tell that the members have matured their talents to a point where it is safe to say that they sound more professional. The melodies and even the solos found on
Dark Nova are not like the generic uninspired ones you may hear constantly on the radio. No no, the ones found here are fun to listen to and will actually grab hold of your ears' attention for the duration of the music.
Some qualities, such as the vocalist's style, cause minor problems. While great for what one might expect of a straight-up punk release, the vocals might not totally be fitting in this scenario. Because of this, the music ends up sounding a bit disjointed at moments, almost as though they are struggling to find out what exactly it is they want to be doing. Still, all in all this EP is truly an enjoyable and, for the most part, consistent piece of rock music. And I cannot help but wonder what Spider Island's future is going to bring as they continue to define their sound and find a spot to settle that truly works for them. In the meantime, however, we have
Dark Nova, a fun release that should rarely disappoint and overall please its audience.
