Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The one overriding thought that comes with being In The Dark, is that eventually you will find the illumination that will lead the way out into the light, that a word, a movement, a measured resonance will indicate that the well-lit is only a deep breath away, that all you need to do is stop and think for a while, let the sound of the ticking in your mind lead you away from the dark and out into the open, out to embrace the Full Fat of the world.
The new E.P. from Aberdeen’s Full Fat, In The Dark, follows on with lavishness that can be heard in the trio’s first two full length albums, 2014’s Most of What Follows Is True and the 2015 live recording An Evening of Full Fat, and whilst some might decry the appearance of a five song E.P. at this juncture of their career, it arguably heightens the appreciation of what is undoubtedly to come in the future.
Five songs, five moments in which the light shines, in which the sun bows its head in wonder as the near illumination grabs hold of the listener’s psyche and allows it glow with confidence. It is in that confidence, that self-reliance and poise that the timid shrink back and musicians such that encompass Full Fat become larger than life, they grow with respect from the listener and the beat of the tune that has been mused over, not taken lightly.
In the songs Le Funk, Come Break My Heart, Doctor Longhair, Brand New (Again) and Temper Temper, Full Fat lay down the musical calorie count and it is as bursting with goodness and packed with highlights as it alludes too, yet never once straying into the path of reckless abandoned crowded weight; this is an E.P. that sees the light and praises the dark from which it came.
We might believe we are In The Dark, but the way is pointed out to the light if we learn how read the signs of those that have sought the way forward.
Full Fat release In The Dark on 17th September.
Ian D. Hall