Bright Midnight - Floating Feather (Blue Day & Age)

Hear The Track Here

My introduction to our very own Doors-alike was with a Floating Feather track. Floating Feather (Sleepy Mood) (July 2009) was the name of that track and I'm not altogether sure whether that has anything whatsoever to do with this track. However, as Hillis Emanuelson
(aka Bright Midnight) said when requesting this review 'got a much revised/redone/remastered version' which makes me presume that they are one and the same track regardless of title. The problem is that, to be honest, I didn't really think that much about the track at the time and never kept it. 'A track of ideas' is what I said at the time, but nothing fully formed to get our teeth into. Since then, of course, Bright Midnight has delivered some very tasty (albeit with a strong Doors/Jim Morrison flavour) blues rock tracks that show he has something going on there.

Not much sign of Jimbo on this track though which, surprisingly enough, sounds strangely like one Thomas J Marchant, including the tone and tenor of the song itself. Definitely more ultra modern Alternative than anything looking back to the 1960's, I actually found myself warming up to this a lot more than I would have given it credit for on my first listen. Whether that is because of my stated liking for this particular style (exemplified by Mr Marchant), or because Bright Midnight is doing such a bang up job of making it happen. No matter what you do, don't let that first listen sway you.

See it all sounds a bit too lo-fi, garage-y the first time around, then you start to notice just how strong the song is, helped enormously by the drawn out, laconic vocal. Not much to it musically, bass drums, guitars employed in a kinda/sorta blues framework, no virtuoso shredders in sight. Which puts all the onus on the song and vocal and - in that respect - Floating Feather (Blue Day & Age) comes off very well indeed, putting the whole thing into a Smiths mood that suits it down to the ground. This is home produced but everything sits extremely comfortably in the mix and, despite a slight roughness, aids the song by being simple and straightforward. All in all, a neat job.

Highly Recommended Alternative