Dead Nature - Watch Me Break Apart

Rejoice! Tarek Musa, he of very first Dork cover superstars Spring King, has returned to us with this, the debut proper for his solo project Dead Nature. A record that worries as much about internal anxieties as it does the huge universal worries that face everyone all over the globe, it is a supernaturally good record from the in-demand and very-super indie producer.

Of course, there's no getting away from the fact that it sounds a lot like a Spring King record. Kicking off with the euphoric sounding title track, the dials have been set firmly for 'big' and 'bombastic'. There's more than a hint of Arcade Fire in some of their epic moments, with a real cinematic sweep across the early moments in particular. Elsewhere, moments like 'Red Clouds' feel like they've been dunked in the same bucket of vibrant day-glo paint that Coldplay fell in love with, while Tarek's lyrics help to sweep the record up into a swirling tempest. It's gloriously giant-sized at times, a set of anthems plainly designed for the biggest rooms and festival crowds.

A little less 'big' may sometimes have been a wiser choice, but there's no disputing the sheer power and joy that 'Watch Me Break Apart' brings, even in the moments where it feels like the soundtrack for the world's slide into chaos. By the time the fuzzy and fiery power of 'Ladlands' rolls in to close the record, the songs have got as high as the sky and as big as the clouds. A banging record to remind you of why you fell in love with his music in the first place. He might have broken apart; now watch him build it up again.