A Production Snob's Wet Signal Dream
... come take a listen to the layered dreamscape of Delaware's Still Nothing ...
"Moment", by Still Nothing
Genre: Progressive / Indie / Experimental Rock / Hard Rock
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Review by NickP
The five-piece from Wilmington, Delaware has spent the past four years perfecting the vision of bandleader Kevin Sweeney. In the end, the music Kevin birthed and that they create together is a moody, dreamlike orchestral rock opera of layers and layers (and layers) of depth and sound. Still Nothing describes their sound as reminiscent of Layne Staley, with the layers of Queen, the charisma (and production approach of Pink Floyd) and the passion of Crowbar. I'm here to say, "I agree with whatever they just said".
The members of the band bring to the stage a unique sound and a strong vocalist. Kevin Sweeny, "the brains" behind the band, writes all the music and arranges everything from the music itself to the final product. Kevin shows his experience with his well developed lyrics, such as from their song "Moment", and a passionate sound that underlies everything they do. Drummer Matthew Tibbet, who has been working with Kevin for 12 years, compliments the wide, Floyd-esque sound of the five piece, as well as the hovering tonals of vocalist Sean Sweeney. Bass player Ben Forman also provides supporting vocals and undertones the rich sound with a dark ebb; coming from such bands as Inchmeal, Puddle, Sentury, Absolute and Malignance, Ben brings his 11 years of experience to the group in a very palpable way in songs such as "Moment". Guitarist Dave Fell also brings a perfect energy to this tune; with over 15 years of experience under his belt he definitely brings something to the table for all those "guitar snobs" out there.
The song opens with a wash of acoustic guitar and a lull of background sounds, bringing you into the oceanic mood of the entire piece. When the vocals actually step in, you realize you've been transported: a subtle mix of Floyd fusion and progressive rock elements, the song takes you through a series emotionally heavy and spacious verses with a simplistic rock-out chorus.
Like Floyd, anyone who has a good ear for the delicate musings and production arrangements of Roger Waters and David Gilmour will have a definite appreciation for this song. Nothing was placed by accident, and everything -- albeit a lot of things -- has its place. Everything from the well arranged chimes to a great overall mixdown during the chorus -- one that changes drastically, but doesn't leave you shaken -- indicates that quite a lot of thought and effort was placed into rounding out and polishing this song.
On the downside, I feel the song takes a bit too long to get started. Its like they left it out there naked all alone for a little too long before actually getting into it. In today's no-attention span generation (given, of course, that very few kids could really appreciate space prog rock fusion like this in the first place) it runs the risk of getting skipped along to the next track.
In all, I've got to take my hat off to the studio genius behind this track. This is, of course, not to leave out the wizardry of the performances themselves, of course. However whether this has more to do with our ritalin charged de-generation or not; this song might appeal to some but leaves more out.
- NickP
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