Dare's
"Arc of the Dawn" is
midnight music. Grey day, raindrops pattering on your windowpane music. Softly sweeping like a gentle breeze. It's a horseback ride through the romance of European hills rolling, waves crashing upon emerald shores. Lovely and dreamy,
"Arc" continues on the path that
Dare set out on with "Beneath the Shining Water" and takes the formula even further. Every song is smooth like silk, there are no rough patches to divert you on the chosen path as it blooms forward like a multi-hued blazing sunset of varying degrees of intensity and shades. It is surely not
Dare of old, which were traditional synth fueled
AOR, but it is a more cohesive and memorable experience than "Beneath the Shining Water" was, and that was certainly a fine album in its own right.
The disc is not for everyone, as the album never tumbles into true "hard" rock territory, prefering to roll along unhindered like the rolling green hills. The pacing is relaxing and very fluid. The gorgeous vocals and sparse but illuminating flashes of electric for the cushy clouds of the poppier
"Shelter in the Storm". Two songs are remakes of tracks from their debut, "Out of the Silence" and these depend on your personal attachment to the originals on whether you will love the re-arrangements or not. They are softer and splashed with the Celtic influences that sweep across current
Dare albums. "Return the Heart" has been morphed into the steadfast declarations of
"I Will Return", all wrapped in flowered fields and great vistas sprawling out like some fantastic visual fantasy, and the other is a well of bottomless regret which pervades
"King of Spades". The chorus is wilting sorrow, and every moment of the song seems to be rallied around this feeling. The original was such perfect that it seems impossible to perfect upon it. There are many differences, not in tempo, but in how that familiar sound is achieved. Synth is replaced by percussion and acoustic, and the vocals have been brought further to the forefront. An excellent rendition at any rate.
There's the luscious soft melancholy for
"Still Waiting" that has hope where none should be and of course the forlornly lonesome
"Kiss the Rain". The piercing heartsoul guitars open
"When", the cream of the album's soft rock crop. The lovely vocals are almost unearthly and the conviction undeniable. Every feeling is shown like a bleeding heart pinned on the sleeve.
"Dublin" has visions and dreams coming together into a restful romantic reality.
"Emerald" is a grand ballad bard-song, telling a story right out of the book of medieval times, with all the instrumental trappings that go along with it. A mostly acoustic setting, electric guitars like lightning dancing in the air at the appropriate moments. Flash and dramatics, expertly guided together to create a seamless tale. This is a
Thin Lizzy cover which makes sense since vocalist Darren Wharton was once a member of the band before its 1980s demise.
You can also hear their sincerely sweet rendition of Cheap Trick's ballad
"The Flame", which pours out the heart and heaps on the emotion. A beautiful song originally, and this more organic version seems to bleed even more feeling in certain places, and is a natural match for Darren's voice. The song breaks up the disc with its familiarity and thus keeps you engaged til the concluding double edged,
"Circles".
Flawless laid-back
AOR is the attraction for
"Arc of the Dawn" and it is one that
Dare spins so magnificently. While it will not capture the hearts of everyone due to its slower nature, those that are looking for something in the melodic range that could be described as - timeless - rather than modern, nostalgic or quirkily dated, will find that this one pleases on so many levels. It may be just what you were looking for, and you didn't know it.
Written by
Alanna Sunday, February 21, 2010
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