Single Review: Presence Of Fear

Ever heard of Dark Water? I’ve been lucky enough to play on the bill with these guys in their home town of The ‘Naki and they sure know how to put a massive amount of energy into their set. They dub themselves alternative, but definitely on the mainstream end of this in my honest opinion.

Their new single Presence Of Fear is aptly named. From the first chord progression, the song gives you a chill that cuts you. It’s dark. I closed my eyes and pictured a room filled with second hand cigarette smoke, a bunch of rockers wearing dark shades, half-filled glasses of whiskey with melting ice sitting on top of the guitar amps, and a bunch of rockers laying into what is probably their most awesome single to date.

Let’s compare this to something for the sake of it – probably the most immediate comparison I’d make is to early Alice In Chains. The drums are so crisp, yet Ross has laid down some pretty impressive technical drumming twined with backbeats that drive the tune exactly as it should, and as always, Nathan and Merran’s guitar and bass lines weave in and out of the melody seamlessly providing this incredible phat sound for a 3-piece that I can’t get my head around. Nathan breaks into a guitar solo just after the mid-way point, simple, yet so effective. The tune really doesn’t ask for anything more as it works through into a more layered second half. Nathan’s really gripped the melody for the song and managed to lay it down thick so it adds the final touches to what is already musically an awesome song. It sits a little low In the mix, but I’m pretty sure I can hear Merran’s vocals working away in harmony underneath just to add spice.

I can’t compliment these guys enough, the tune is fantastic and the recording quality is awesome, it’s getting the big two thumbs up from me. Definitely add this to your Spotify playlist, or even better, head along to their Bandcamp, watch the video here, support them as an artist, and buy their tunes.