Opening an album with a ballad is something I hadn’t heard until I listened to WATERMEDOWN’s The Same View with a New Light. I like it.
It’s a warm welcoming and sets the mood for a very emo album. Normally I’m not big on long, four plus minute songs, but this five and a half minute song is able to keep it interesting enough to make it worthwhile. After repeating the message “wake up” several times, ending the lengthy five-and-a-half minute song in an alarm clock seemed only fitting. “Redefined” is a beautifully executed song. Electric and acoustic guitars are melded impeccably, building up until it’s almost just isolated vocals left in the end. The next song, “Dead Things,” comes to me as a bit of a bore, on the other hand. Nothing grabs me about it like the interweaving guitars on “Redefined.” Another ballad that comes later in the album, “Fickle,” is a relatable, self-critical track about the weight of a year toeing the border of being too much to handle. The penultimate “On a Paper Trail” seems to have been dragged out about twice as long as it needs to be, leaving most of the barely-audible middle of the song feeling unnecessary. Finishing this album in the acoustic “Three Long Over Ice” was a nice touch and I feel really wraps up the album nicely, like putting a bow on a wrapped gift.
Overall: The Same View with a New Light has a few bores, but also contains some stunning tracks that make this record well worth a listen.
8.5/10
Review by Shane Haley
Crown Times Music 