Exit Calm – s/t (Sonic Unyon)

Back in the 80s, some bands championed the virtues of what Waterboys leader Mike Scott dubbed “the Big Music.” You know what I’m talking about – huge, widescreen rock and pop that seemed arena-filling whether that was the intention or not. South Yorkshire quartet Exit Calm also subscribes to this newsletter – its self-titled debut overfloweth with mountain-scaled melodies, pealing guitars, lung-filled vocals and song titles like “Forgiveness” and “Atone.” If you’ve ever grokked 80s U2, early Verve or Echo & the Bunnymen at its most melodramatic, you know exactly what Exit Calm is up to here. This kind of epic pop can easily to histrionic silliness; amazingly, Exit Calm manages to avoid that trap. (Dances to the edge of it, mind you…) “Don’t Look Down,” “When You Realise” and “You Got It All Wrong” will suck you in pretty easily to their 30 foot blankets of heart-on-sleeve release. Of course, it becomes exhausting over the course of an hour, but in small doses, Exit Calm is quite affecting.

http://myspace.com/exitcalm
http://sonicunyon.com