Norwich Darkside - Geoff Chapa

One man, a copy of fruity loops and a whole lot of energy.

I was asked to do this review a rather long time ago and it was only the other day that I found the songs on my computer and got myself into gear to do it.
Unfortunately, I could not find a track order for the ep so I apologise for that.

Burn or light the flame
Imagine Drowning
School Leavers
What to say to old people
Pali, a Excede, Salit, Deteste
Tonight (You and I)
Nice Like

Listening to Geoff?s music can sometimes be quite a challenge. Listening to this ep all the way through, it is clear to see that he didn?t want to fit into any single genre of music - from the dreamy and ambient ?Tonight (You and I), with a vocal line reminiscent of The Cure, to the sometimes frantic and wild sounds in ?Nice Like? and ?Burn or light the flame?.
The ep as a whole displays many feelings of pain that excel teenage angst and are sometimes uncomfortable to listen to when thinking of the context and personal perspective behind them. In particular, towards the end of ?Nice Like? where the sound really elevates and takes the sound to a whole different area, not explored anywhere else on the ep.
Themes explored in the ep seem to be mostly about relationships and people. ?Imagine Drowning? - a somewhat down heartened tale of a man, lost and forever trying to impress, or simply to get on with life without getting bogged down with its lack of ?ups? and excess of ?downs?.
My favourite track is ?School Leavers?. Possibly a look at the youth of today?s lemming-esque society, in which adults must watch as they all follow each other on a path to destruction. The same theme seems to be followed in ?What to say to old people?. ?You?re kids are making deals with demons in the street today? - the opening line which sticks with you for the remainder of the ep and beyond as well. The vocal line slips a little in the bridge near the end of the song, but one could argue that it adds to the message of confusion that I personally found embedded inside the song.
?Pali, a Excede, Salit, Deteste? is sung predominantly in French and has a really nice chord progression that fades in and out throughout the song. The line ?thinks he knows it all? is one that most people can relate to at one time or another and is another that stuck with me for a while after I listened through the ep.

Enjoyable and somewhat chilling, yet with a glimmer of hope - occasionally emerging from time to time. I must get hold of ?Falling out of car doors? - Geoff?s previous ep to see the progression and to see how the music has changed since it was made.

George Insull