Overmono: Good Lies track by track review

Overmono are a duo of Welsh brothers, Tom and Ed Russell and they have been making a name for themselves with their infectious and club-ready sound which has generated plenty of hype. We thought we'd dive into their debut album 'Good Lies' on a track-by-track basis. 

 

Feelings Plain

A looped vocal dominates the track early on before it explodes into life with a backing sound that feels instantly cathartic. It's a song that never really changes its path, it's a steady opener that relies on atmosphere over energy.

 

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Arla Fearn

The start of the track almost feels as if you've been dropped into a futuristic, cyberpunk landscape before dropping into a beat of sparse drumming and augmented vocals. It feels completely overwhelming at points as waves of sound overcome you time and time again. 

 

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Good Lies

There's an instant feel-good vibe to the album's title track. Similar vocals to the opening track take over and this track feels like pure summer vibes. The electronic drum patterns have a buoyancy that instantly makes you want to get up and move. It's a song that is very hard to listen to while sitting down.

 

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Good Lies (Outro)

This might as well have just been added to the back of the last track as the mix suddenly becomes much darker and swarmed by murky, stickier textures before fizzling out.

 

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Walk Thru Water (feat St.Panther)

It feels as if the vocals at the start are coming through the other side of a waterfall. Suddenly we're introduced to a vocal flow that merges flawlessly with the beat. The track gradually evolves over time to the point where the melody is much lighter in the secnd half like sunlight breaking through dark skies.

 

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Cold Blooded

Dropping into vocals that are distorted just the same as most have been on the album so far, the electricity feels palpable throughout this track. Sharp textures get right in your face as the track goes on, it feels as if the flow is being constantly improvised as it goes off in any direction. 

 

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Skulled

There's a lot more intensity channelled into 'Skulled' than we've heard on the rest of the album. There's a fierceness to the shaken percussion and warning-sign-like synth blaring in the background. It eventually gives way to a much more meditative experience.

 

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Sugarushhh

The track seems to capture you in a liminal space with only transparent vocals and quiet oscillations to accompany you. the drumming slowly and steadily comes to the fore, feeling like an adrenaline rush as it starts going into full throttle. 

 

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Calon

There hasn't been a lot of variation when it comes to the album's drumming, it coincides with a lack of real excitement that you can get from this album. 'Calon' is a similar script to the rest of the album to date apart from 'Good Lies'. 

 

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Is U

We get more breakbeat here, with the same percussion yet again with looped vocals, Overmono aren't as capable of crafting as gripping soundscapes as other electronic producers such as Kelly Lee Owens. 'Is U' is slightly danceable and opts for a more relaxing, slow-burn approach.

 

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Vermonly

One of the most atmospheric tracks on the whole album, it amps up the drones of the synths and does away with vocals for the most part, leading to a more transcending feeling. It's one of the duo's most effective songs on 'Good Lies'.

 

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So U Kno

We land back in the more formulaic territory that we've heard on the album so far. Although it does succeed in creating an escapist type of atmosphere, it isn't anything you've already heard before on the album.

 

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Calling Out

A song that draws out over 3 minutes into a static, sprawling crescendo.

 

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Overall, 'Good Lies' by Overmono is...fine. With electronic beats that reach for a more atmospheric tone, you get spaced-out tracks and slow-burning textures in abundance. It's fine if you want something to relax to or have on in the background but there are absolutely no thrills to be found here apart from on the title track.

 

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