The tightest and most expressive InMe album to date.
Few British rock bands can boast the success that InMe have had, in the small five years that they have been on the scene they have had three top forty singles, a number one album and a great many appearances country wide at festivals, gigs and their own tours which they have embarked on with relentless enthusiasm and all of this started in a blink of an eyelid back in 2002. Their capacity to overcome highs and lows within the heavy rhythm of band life has been remarkable and their newest release marks the clearing of a hurdle that would stint many bands in their growth, the departure of a founding member – Joe Morgan the former bassist until 2006. In his place stands Greg McPherson, Dave's (lead singer and guitarist) younger brother and with a new member came a complete reinvention of InMe's sound, a richer and more technically able InMe emerged from its cocoon and resulted in their new album 'Daydream Anonymous' to be released on the 10th of September.
"We wanted to achieve a much richer, technical sound yet still maintaining snappy, thought out song structures" says Dave on the new album and they have certainly managed to achieve this, whether heavy or deep and meaningful the tracks are a lot more atmospheric and the riff work incredibly tight and complex. The songs have a lot more depth and dynamics to them, with the use of effects pedals now more refined to create mind-blowing soundscapes that far surpass the examples set by 'Overgrown Eden' and 'White Butterfly'. The album was recorded as Fascination Studios in Sweden (Opeth's 'Ghost Reveries'), which helped magnify the technical elements of the album while still retaining that crisp tight sound and feeling that InMe are so well known for.
'Myths and Photographs' kicks in with an incredibly technical and fast paced, mind-blowing riff that twists and turns over so many scales and tempos that it could easily be placed on a Dreamtheater track. This quickly races into the strong vocal lines that drive the sound wall forwards and into the sonic storm of atmosphere and emotion that was first laid out by 'Overgrown Eden's' 'Neptune', but already within the first minute of the track it is very clear just how far their song writing has come since then. The track is full of tension and release all the way through, especially when the chorus hits, the sound is so much heavier and Dave's voice much more able to carry over this immense wall of sound.
'Turbulence' is one of the more emotional and quieter tracks on the album, 'Daydream Anonymous' version of 'Her Mask (p.a)', and it is a beautiful work of art. The guitars glide like silk over heartfelt drum fills and acoustic rhythm, creating an ethereal and ghostly feel and Dave's voice finds a new found level of clarity and smoothness that breathes tenderness and emotion in its rawest and most creative form. It shows off the incredible leap of maturity that the band have taken as musicians and their ability to reflect emotion in other shades of rock music, sometimes heavy isn't necessarily the best way to express feeling and InMe never fail to demonstrate their understanding of this.
'Daydream Anonymous' has a darker and more sinister sound to it, Dave McPherson's voice caresses an echoing string backdrop and weeping guitars like silk, almost crying out with nostalgia and pain as he sings. Obviously the subject is very close to home because, of the whole album, it is the one track with the most depth and feeling, the dynamics are approached with real intimacy and every note is delicately played to best depict every intricate detail. The layers gradually build up and build tension, the guitars float and dance upon the vocals like the warm autumn light through trees, before suddenly dropping into a dark and melancholy minor key, gradually picking up in speed and heaviness before fading away into a beautiful close, like a whisper on the wind.
If any band deserves a medal for personal growth despite the loss of a member and for reaching new heights and using these hardships to produce the best music they have written it should be InMe, for the sheer amount of innovation that has gone into this album, the only other band to have accomplished this goal this year is Nightwish. InMe have proved yet again what they are capable of and can be sure that this release will drive their success even higher.