Overmono – ‘Good Lies’ album review
Welsh electronic duo Overmono finally release their long-awaited debut album, Good Lies. Comprised of brothers Tom and Ed Russell, they make good on the promise of their past efforts, fusing ethereal techno with grooving dubstep and backbeats into an eclectic palette that never loses sight of being Overmono. Made for the dancefloor and summer festivals, Good Lies is 12 tracks of electronic refinement, with flecks of pop twisted in that will no doubt appeal to the masses.
However, I could do without the poppier elements the duo blend into their sound, with the album opener ‘Feelings Plain’, arguably the worst moment in the body of work. While it creates anticipation, with the spaced-out kick aiding this – particularly after the hi-hat is introduced – the repeated vocal line and affected central melody are too cheesy. Think less about the boundary-pushing nature of XL Recordings and more about chart-topping R&B artists. Not for me.
Luckily, the album segues into ‘Arla Fearn’, one of the best moments. At the inception, it marries a techy dubstep beat comprising glitchy bleeps and a swollen drone with another digitally-coloured vocal line with much more artistic panache behind it. It then gives way to one of the most infectious grooves on the record.
This is what Overmono does best, welding the brothers’ respective solo careers – Tom’s in techno and Ed’s in dubstep – into a pulsating mesh that whisks you away and makes you yearn for the dancefloor. It’s not too niche either; there’s still a broad appeal to the piece due to the soulful slant of the vocals and the uplifting 1990s-steeped melody that emerges after 3:30. It’s sure to be remixed a multitude of times following release.
The third track, ‘Good Lies’, is also a moment of note. It comes with a nostalgic-sounding vocal performance courtesy of Norwegian act Smerz, underpinned by a retro garage beat and an earworm of a synth line. A manifestation of the current penchant for fusing the computerised contemporary sensibility with the sound of days passed deemed more culturally valuable; it’s another sonic mixture you cannot help but rewind. It has the potential to be a modern dance classic.
Props also have to go to the way it fades out after 2:40, with the brothers dangling ketty Berlin-esque techno in front of the listener with some sweeping sounds, ephemeral subs and atmospheric synths. We anticipate that a slamming beat will emerge, but it doesn’t. It cleverly teases you.
‘Walk Thru Water’ then comes into play. It starts with a surreal, trap-oriented vocal line from St. Panther, before an industrial, tapping beat comes to the fore, which gradually metamorphoses into a more substantial soundscape. Then, the vocals float around the mix, and a hypnotic chorus of synths arrives to keep you suspended in Overmono’s otherworld. A kaleidoscopic sonic offering, it’s another example of the technical breadth the brothers possess.
Elsewhere, the shuffling groove of ‘Skulled’ is akin to something you might get from an artist signed to Germany’s Ilian Tape, which quickly has you locked in as it drives on. The almost vaporwave grandeur of ‘Vermonly’ also stands out, with it the most cerebral piece on offer. The Russell brothers then close out proceedings with the attitude-laden ‘So U Kno’, and euphoric mover ‘Calling Out’.
Good Lies has set Overmono up for a bright future.
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