Album Review: Venus II – Inside Your Sun
3 min read
Individually, Jarrad Brown and Ryan Grieve have plenty to talk about regarding their expansive music ties and noteworthy songwriting professions. Brown with his frontman responsibilities for Eagle & The Worm / Dorsal Fins and Grieve being a core member of Sydney-based group Canyons. Together they are Venus II and this year sees the unlikely pair dynamically connect to issue a prodigious debut full length of overflowing purpose. Fused with a pulsing energy that transposes over galactic happiness and genuine feelings of good is Inside Your Sun. Expect throbbing bass lines, straightforward and thick mastering as they reveal the music’s strong point – a well-steady podium of funky, rave evocative jams destined for festival’s, living rooms and club settings alike. The bouncy, nostalgic beauty trapped inside the record refer to the early Manchester movement of the early nineties, yet manage to channel enough strong momentum to perfectly capture the rich essence of such indie-dance friendly pop music of today.
Commencing with a breakbeat, horn worthy gesture waving in the direction of early nineties house music and Manchester rock and roll is the funk-encrusted, nostalgic Fight For It. Think somewhere between Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and LTJ Bukem. The Extended Sun Mix of the record’s title track, Inside Your Sun, centres itself as the primary golden pillar of the record. Nearly eight minutes in duration, it spills a thumping groove from a deep, techno thick bass line both raw and physical. Brown’s vocals echo throughout windings of voice snippet samples and orchestral propagations, tipping with respective singing guitar cries in a cloud of a characteristic aura. My Direction displays sci-fi sound elements as it applies a ghostlike bass line and rumbling drum notes. The filtered vocal inclusions add an eery, ethereal and soft fairness, lifting the track into a slow building, Balearic storm in a teacup. The percussion adds an inescapable groove projection – entwining together in a crescendo of upbeat joy. Not one to shy away, Jarrad Brown’s vocals befall crying messages of love and elevate the feelings into a hazy domineering power. You can also really hear the influence and input from Ryan Grieve, utilising his Canyons dance floor and synth-pop knowledge, throughout this stadium filling twist on contemporary indie dance music.
It’s not all raver focused and dance floor friendly, though, in a healthy way. The record has its equal share of dreamy ballads and relaxed approaches. Cannibal Eyes is a delicate disentangling of timid values and sensitive virtues, eerily stepping back in time whilst nodding subtly at a Rolling Stones vibration. Brown’s vocals layer over rustic instrumental qualities and harmonious melodic predilections – settling the end recorded result inside a cavern of daring repetitive nuances. Heart In My Pocket unpacks soft flute portions folding them among resting percussive touches – making room for Brown’s easy soothings. It continues spiralling into a Balearic funk-bass mixture and piano tingled direction, pinning this dusk jam among one of the more mellowed visits on the record.
The final song packs a heavy punch with Electricity. It’s a soft ballad comprised of an atmospheric lead, sultry guitar chords, exhibiting an almost Purple Rain-like presence in the vocals. Brown’s strength appetite of a singing presence lifts as cruising synth leads and crashing drums veer the momentum into a foggy blizzard of genuine effulgence. Inside Your Sun is a rewarding product of a well-produced, honest creative reflection. It digs deep into the pair’s singular tastes yet generates enough dynamic to reconstruct the boundaries set against releasing current and contemplative music of today. More, please.
