Holton's Opulent Oog - Love In The Mist (Big Potato)
2/5
By: Stephen Maughan
It's been a few years now since Holton’s Opulent Oog's well received 2008 debut The Problem of Knowledge, which may have not propelled them to any kind of mainstream success, but did win them quite a few admirers in circles that enjoyed subtle, folky lullabies. £100 well spent, you could say (the amount HOO apparently splashed on its recording).
Love In The Mist feels like a companion piece, a slightly more formed and confident record, rather than any great leap forward musically. Lyricst Nick Holton has crafted twelve rather sweet tales of dreamily romantic mumbo-jumbo that often feel like sucking on a lemon - it looks delicious and refreshing, but it's much too sour, and as such can’t revive one’s spirits.
While Love In The Mist is pleasant enough, there's little here to offend, and the twanging guitars give weight to some quite accomplished pieces, particularly on the heartbroken simg-a-long ‘Do You Miss Someone?’ and the bittersweet ‘I Don't Believe You’. Nick Holton's voice is, once again, a real highlight here, his howling voice matching perfectly the folky undertones.
Still, it's not enough. Far too often Love In The Mist feels rushed and falls flat. Their frontman’s voice, a nice melody here and there, an interesting twist of a lyric and a heavy dash of Spanish guitar can't save Holton's Opulent Ogg's second LP from being a somewhat mixed bag. It's a shame, because there’s surely potential here – if they progress beyond what they’re doing with it at the minute, their day could be yet to come.
Rough Times by Big Potato Records
Artists in this article: Holton's Opulent Oog
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