Review by Andrew PattersonOn the sophomore album by Marine Dreams, an old adage reveals itself to be true: there is great bravery in feeling deeply. With its serene production and slightly unusual palette, Corner Of The Eye is a gentle, bare-skinned record. It is tender and curious. It is populated with complex emotions, neither happy or sad, uplifting or disheartening. In other words, it’s the kind of record you can live in.
Songwriter Ian Kehoe has always had an incredible knack for simply-put stunners; songs that build moving pictures of old, dead things. In the hands of lesser artists, the subjects found on this record (wet leaves, teary eyes, pearly skies or ‘the darkness’) lay so often lifeless or awkwardly propped up in a kind of bleak ventriloquism. On Corner Of The Eye, Kehoe defiantly holds these things up to the light, angling them ever so slightly to create wonderfully reflective surfaces. With this new collection, Kehoe turns smudged, oft-handled wares into nuanced nonpareil.
Anchored by his usual cohorts (Ross Miller playing deft and surprisingly busy bass, Tamara Lindeman providing ethereal backing vocals and Daniel Romano on production), Kehoe has made a restorative record that sits subtly left of centre. With compelling melodies and an embarrassment of rich lyrics, Corner Of The Eye feels instinctual and sounds intoxicating.
