CD Review  

IQ
 "Dark Matter"

Rating 89%

reviewed by Kim Bolton

 

 

 

 

available from

 The CD opens with an almost 12 minute long piece entitled Sacred Sound. As it begins to play it seems aptly titled in that the opening strains would not sound amiss on Peter Gabriel's soundtrack album Passion. However it soon takes off in a different direction becoming the kind of track we have come to expect from IQ, (although it has to be said that an early Gabriel-Era Genesis sound keeps re-emerging only to disappear again among the IQ sound waves throughout the album). The keyboards have a disturbingly familiar feel on more than one occasion giving the impression that this track belongs to some long forgotten past that we can't quite remember but feel we should. Don't ask me what it's about, I've read the lyrics more than once and am none the wiser!

Red Dust Shadow is a beautiful melancholy piece; it makes you want to lie down in the dark and let it flow over you like water. Peter sings in a such a way that the song cannot fail in its touching simplicity.

The ticking of a clock to emphasize time's passing, leads us into You Never Will, probably my favourite track on the album. The lyrics talk of waiting for that someone special to make some kind of decision. If you are currently entangled in some kind of love triangle, this is probably the track for you. Again there are echoes of early Genesis to be picked out here had there which you can never quite put your finger on, but on the whole it's very IQ.

Born Brilliant is the track I'd like to dedicate to my ex-husband. It's the perfect bastard portrait... on second thoughts, not good at all for my ex, he wasn't even perfect at being a bastard! A seemingly repetitive melody and rhythm build up into a satisfying crescendo.

Harvest of Souls; lasting a mere 24.5 minutes it has been divided into 6 bite size pieces in the lyric booklet but being a single track on the CD, you can't just jump to your favourite part or put a particular section on 'repeat', which is a shame.

  1. First of the Last - is another beautiful soft piece with light musical chords accompanying Peter's voice. It leads into the tongue-in-cheek
  2. The Wrong Host - this is probably the first thing you'll find yourself humming along to! And that Genesis sound is back...
  3. Nocturne - is the one to avoid if you've been dumped recently - but of course you can't just jump to the next bit; hit the skip button and you'll be at the end of the album! So you've got a few teary minutes to get through, perfect for feeling sorry for yourself at being on your own, before you can listen to the rest! Come on guys! A bit of heart, you really should have made this 'skippable' for those of us still licking our wounds and getting used to single status (not that I've been dumped (again!) or anything). Ends with a great musical bit though, the kind where you'd expect Peter to walk off stage for an all too quick cup of tea, leaving Mike and John to battle it out - great stuff! 
  4. Frame and Form - starting out vaguely reminiscent of something off Subterranea, (again can't put my finger on it) this is a much cheerier little number where we are told to 'Shine like a star so Bright' which is sound advice I guess if all you've got around you is darkness!
  5. Mortal Procession - oh, this is just so IQ, this has got to be great live! A part of it reminds me of Gabriel's voice in ' The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging' and other keyboard parts also bring to mind 'The Lamb....'
  6. Ghost of Days - A melody repeated from earlier on, to remind us that we are in fact still listening to the same track we began listening to all that time ago, go into making up this final tasty morsel. Short and sweet as any last course should be, it takes the album to a gentle fade...

The title of this reminds me to make a comment on the art work. The album cover brings to mind the ghost of Marley when he first appeared to Scrooge as his door knocker! Now whether this was the desired effect or not I cannot say, but there you are...

To sum up, if you're an IQ fan and you like early Genesis, then you're gonna love this!