In Dynamics – ‘Everything I See’ [Review]
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When I first heard In Dynamics’ second EP Questions back in 2014, I was floored. Few bands are that on it so early on in their recording careers. In Dynamics were a hot prospect then – and over the past two years they’ve been hard at work crafting this full-length alongside Chris Coulter, the production mind behind releases from Arcane Roots and Jamie Lenman.
Fans of the above and Biffy Clyro should probably get a bucket before listening to Everything I See, because they will be salivating for the duration – and nobody wants drool drying into their carpet.
In Dynamics are masters of both surgically precise tightness (even during the most intricate rhythmic excursions) and 4K-grade immersive epicness. Chorus hooks hit like tidal waves, over and over again, from This Is the Start Of Nothing onwards. With today’s music business super-saturated by bands competing fiercely on every level, gripping listeners with the perfect mix of the familiar and unique from note one is absolutely essential – and In Dynamics have achieved that here.
I’d quite like to hear Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson on backing vocals during We Are Liars (“When we speak of what was promised / We are liars…What does the future hold?”), but you can’t have everything. In This Light manages to bottle up the Foo Fighters’ moderately overdriven catharsis before veering into widescreen math territory; A String Of Losses does likewise, loud-quiet dynamics employed to great effect while Jack Wrench makes this his song with some immense drum work; and Leviticus sees clean guitar tones filled with guts, grit and rumination, all at the same time.
Everything I See is so obviously a labour of love, it’s impossible not to be moved while listening to it. The pop elements retain their intelligence, never slipping into half-hearted pandering to the lowest common denominator, and the heavy sections are crammed full of satisfying heart, balls, and swagger. There’s a definite sense of simultaneous confidence and vulnerability on here.
That’s a hard balance to strike, but again, In Dynamics have achieved it.
Case in point: Another Minute. Cue one rolling riff punctuated by a Tom Morello-style behind-the-nut harmonic and followed up with an Infinity Land-era-Biffy clean section. Less than a minute in, so much has happened – and yet it’s completely seamless. If there’s any criticism to be levelled at In Dynamics, it’s that it is at times easy to compare them to Arcane Roots, especially here. But then, Everything I See features Arcane Roots’ new drummer as well as their longtime producer, so it’s not exactly a shocker. More like a tiny niggly point that’s easily ignored given the quality of the song in question.
By the time seventh tune Vital comes along, the In Dynamics style has been firmly established. Almost every album by bands who sound like themselves and nobody else hit the point where they’ve conclusively proven themselves, and set up to continue exploring their personality-enabled niche. Vital is that point – and it lives up to its name, ebbing and flowing as strings lend a sense of additional depth and In Dynamics deliver a pitch-perfect performance. Some of the best lyrics on the album, too.
No live rock set is complete without a song to pogo to – and Existence Precedes Essence is exactly that. Shades of fellow undergrounders Press To MECO make Everything I See’s eighth song an intriguing one, and then we’re off into the home stretch…
With all that’s come before, The Weight Of Wait proves a little too familiar, but only because In Dynamics have created their own space, invited us in, and filled our ears with music you just won’t hear anywhere else. The Weight Of Wait remains head and shoulders above entire swathes of the competition outside of the In Dynamics camp, but within it, there are easily better cuts on this album. If anything, it’s a sign of In Dynamics’ dedication to quality, considering the worst you can say about The Weight Of Wait is that it’s still a cool song.
Time for the title track. Just when you thought In Dynamics were done pricking up your ears and starting to settle down into a comfortable groove, Everything I See (the song) drops. Two minutes of slow-burning balladry get beautifully shredded by stabbing guitars and a monumental hypersyncopated climb toward this album’s climax. It’s absolutely blinding, one for the ages.
Overall, despite the mainstream largely turning its back on hench riffs in favour of electronic beats, rapping, and Ed Sheeran, rock isn’t dead. It’s keeping itself alive – on a smaller scale than in previous decades, sure, but judging from the current state of the UK underground there are plenty of bands gearing up to take over the world. In Dynamics are one of them.
TMMP RATING: 94%
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