Dark In Light is the second disc from Dutch singer/ songwriter Han Uil. According to his bio, in addition to releasing his first independent disc back in 2006, he's also spent the better part of the last ten years fronting a couple of progressive bands in his native country as well. In fact readers of this site might remember Uil's work on Seven Day Hunt's last album File This Dream which was released a few years back and reviewed here on SoT.
On Dark In Light most of the instrumentation is handled by Uil himself, but a few of his friends from Seven Day Hunt show up to provide some help in places. The disc kicks off with the absolutely gorgeous, symphonic instrumental "War of Thoughts", which finds Uil showing David Gilmour some love with his stellar, melodic guitar solos. From that point on there's no looking back as for roughly the next hour Uil holds the listener in the palm of his hand as he deftly weaves his magic over the course of the ten remaining compositions on this disc.
Although not entirely progressive in nature, Dark In Light reveals an artist who is clearly firing on all cylinders. The music here flows so effortlessly that even when he's changing up the arrangements within the song, it feels nothing less than natural. He clearly has a knack for writing superbly crafted melodies and well thought out arrangements. Take for example the laid back approach taken on "A Song For The Soldier", where his warm vocals are perfectly intertwined with the female backing support provided by Carola Magermans and the soothing tones of Eric Healing's saxophone. This track segues perfectly into the similar sounding "I've Waited Too Long" which begins almost the same way with Uil's emotive guitar work setting the stage early on, before the arrangement shifts ever so slightly a couple of times before returning to the main theme. The title track is another standout number worthy of mention. A moody composition that benefits from Jaap Mulder's atmospheric keyboard textures, this is yet another example of how Uil keeps the listener engaged throughout, subtly shifting gears at times by injecting more of those colorful guitar solos of his into the mix.
Dark In Light has so much upside that it's hard to not sit up and take notice. Han Uil has created a diverse sounding disc that should definitely appeal to progressive rock fans, but also to people who appreciate good music in general.
Track Listing
1) War of Thoughts
2) Aquila Island
3) The Same Old Endless Story
4) A Song For The Soldier
5) I've Waited Too Long
6) Dark In Light
7) Memento
8) I Love You Still
9) Getting Up
10) The Great Descent
11) Love Can Be Found
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