Dark Stares: Octopon EP Review

Octopon, Dark Stares’ pithy follow-up to 2012’s Tell Your Friends EP bursts out of the starting gate with “Bad Machine,” the band’s newest single and the first of four tracks that deliver a condensed musical barrage, further cementing this quartet as an outstanding act in the British rock scene. And they haven’t even released a debut full-length album yet.

The fare on Octopon are weighty, earnest pulse-pounding tracks that feature fuzzy distorted guitars and vocals punctuated by driving bass. Throughout, the band evokes styles reminiscent of Black Box Revelation, Queens of the Stone Age and The Black Keys, the latter two especially exemplified in the EP’s final track “Blackfyre.”

The EP is somewhat overly homogenous, with all the tracks occupying a similar sonic vein and embodying the same style Dark Stares exemplified on their previous release. But they execute their craft incredibly well, and have honed what they do even more this time around.

On Octopon, Dark Stares create more of their unique yet familiar jams and instill more curiosity as to what they have planned next. They’ve set a solid model with their past music, but EP’s provide little opportunity for variety. A future full-length debut would be more than welcome.

The Review: 8.5/10

The Big Hit

– Bad Machine

Review by Tyler Quiring