The room fills with the return of Mark Vennis & Different Place to our safe haven for audio delight. Headed up by the interplay and vocals of Vennis and Sean Quinn, and fueled by the thump of Dave Sweetenham’s bass and the rhythms supplied by Brian Gee, this five-piece has a quality that is all their own. Following their exploration in the raw, honest darkness of their single “In These Times,” in which they expressed our struggles in song, they have come out into the light in their Sunrise EP. This record encapsulates in its five songs the fleeting moments in which the world is waking up. Come with us into the music and explore the layers of this exciting recording.

“The Beating of the Drum” is the opening track on the album. It starts out with a drum beat in low frequencies that almost instantly gives way to a rhythmic drum beat that has a marching foot tread about it rather than any kind of drums. Although there is a celebration indicated in the name of the song, the lyrics give a completely different impression. The persons hears nothing but the beat of the drum,” which means that the constant need to keep up with a world moving too fast has drained him. The song features  a hypnotic repetition of the chorus, which, in fact, is somewhat claustrophobic. It leaves the listener with a rising feeling of anxiety, which perfectly describes just how the character feels. This song is wonderful and sets the ball rolling.

“This Nation’s Ghosts” is track number two. This song starts with a lonely guitar riff, accompanied by some distant tuning of a radio through static. This particular song does not deal with ghosts. This song is actually about people who are left behind as a result of progress. Like a father of a country. Or a mother of a country. Take the example of Ghana, where my parents hail from. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah is actually the nation’s ghost of that particular country. This song actually has a folk horror vibe and instrumentation that makes this song so, so much better.

“Empire Road” is the third song in the album. A sharp, jagged electric guitar riff cuts through, accompanied by a heavy, swinging bassline that feels  and confident and bright. A biting critique of inherited grandeur. The lyrics dissect the “cracks in the Victorian brickwork,” suggesting that the foundations we build our identities on are crumbling under the weight of history. It talks about how where we are from, takes up a lot of our identities. It’s the most “rock” moment on the album, and the swagger is so captivating. This song leaves the listener feeling skeptical of authority and tradition which is valid

“All Points South” is the song that follows. The sound of guitar welcome you to the song and the vocals performance is a heavy wash that feels like blurred scenery passing a window. The song is all about “the gravitational pull of the city and the loss of regional identity or the phenomenon of not feeling out of place or like you belong anywhere. So normally and correctly, every compass points to the true north so it is assumed that we as people’s true home or where we belong will be our true north but, unfortunately, in this song, it is not. In the lyrics, there is mention of “bright lights swallowing the stars” and this is a kind of metaphor for a sort of leveling of cultures. It is a Dreamy song, but it is a sad one. It is a song that captures that particular “traveling loneliness” that is the experience of being in a state that is neither here nor there.

The fifth song is titled “Goodbye to All of That”. The song opens with a fun melody that is backed by a beautiful and crisp vocal performance. This song is perfect for resolutions especially New Year’s resolutions because it deals with the finality of a bridge burned. The lyrics are more about a split but a complete cutting loose of a part of oneself from the past. “I left my keys in the lock of a door that no longer exists. The song will entertain you. However, it’s Raw with very few instruments.

Next up is “There is No Way Back”. A distorted vocal loop that sounds like a warning, layered over a driving drum and guitar beat. The inevitability of time. The words in the lyrics speak about the “one-way glass of memory”–we get to look at what we’ve been through, but we can’t reach it. It’s the fear of progress in the song. The music is High-energy and desperate. The listener is left gasping for air as if they are running away from something they can’t see.

Up next is the song “The Trader”. “The song kicks off with “A jangle of coins/tambourine sound and keys,” and it goes into a sleazy, mid-tempo blues rhythm. This is a characterization of a man who provides “solutions to problems he created.” This is a very cynical critique of modern capitalism and the transplantation of interpersonal relations into commodity form, in other words, the final boss of consumerism. This sounds the production quality here is beautiful and the vocals are flawless. This makes the listener want to wash his hands after listening

At number eight we have “An English Tragedy”. A springs to life in a beautiful and foot tapping way. The song details quiet desperation in the suburbs. The song is a narrative of a “well-kept lawn hiding a hollow house,” focusing on the tragedy of lives lived entirely for keeping up appearances. It lets people know that the suburbs is not a field is sunshine and rainbows like people who live there say especially to people who live in the city. Deeply cinematic and groovy; it takes the listener into a somber reflection while having fun.

Up next is “Crawling Through the Woods”. The song opens with a lovely guitar melody, drum beat and vocal arrangements. The Theme is A return to the primal. The lyrics are about the longing to strip away the trappings of civilization and become “something with teeth” again. It’s a survival mechanism. The music is dark and very groovy.

Next is “Just Another Campaign”. A snare drum roll that sounds like a toy soldier, leading into a bright, almost-too-cheerful section. The emptiness of political promises. The lyrics are a mix of empty promises and “hollow promises polished until they shine.” This all takes place because one is tired and “fed up with all these new beginnings.” Come on; politicians are all liars; they thrust promises into our faces until we vote for them, and only a few fulfill their promises. The song is intentionally dissonant. Since the melody is cheerful, it makes one cynical and awake from the “fog”

The next song is called Golden Country. A warm, honey-toned slide guitar that feels like a sunset. The song portrays  A vision of a lost paradise, or maybe a fake one. The lyrics speak of a “land of milk and honey, where the bees are all dead,” speculating on whether the “good old days” really were any good. Look, I don’t care if it is real or not, Mark Vennis  and Different place, please sign me up, I really want to go to this Golden Country. The music is  Beautiful and pastoral. It lulls the listener into a false sense of security, until the final song upends everything.

The album wraps up with “Requiem”. The song is brought to life by a single, pulsing electronic drum beat. In this song we meet a character who wants to be out of this world. He insists that anywhere is better than here and wishes to disappear. It is a song to remember this character and so it says, “Let the dust settle, for the dust is all we are.” Musically, it is Spiritual and expansive. This leaves the listener in a state of grace, offering closure to a turbulent ride. And with this song, Mark Vennis and Different Place bow out

“As Mark Vennis says himself, ‘Goodbye to All That’ is a moving sonic investigation of the British condition that feels particularly apt when the national psyche is as fractured as it is now. Named after Robert Graves’ landmark memoir of his WWI experiences, ‘Goodbye to All That’ is a similarly linked blend of realism and dark irony. Mark Vennis offers no easy answers, only a move unflinching exploration of the legacy of imperialism upon the common citizen, the faces who shared the weight of the fight without ever feeling the benefit of the plundered wealth.’ A record that proudly stands upon the shoulders of history, ‘Goodbye to All That’ is a document that asks the question of its title, is the legacy of nativism and white supremacy really a thing of the past, or is that simply its title?” Completely self-contained within its creation, the record was produced, written, arranged, recorded, and performed by Mark Vennis and Different. I have seen what this band can do, and it’s an experience that I don’t want to gate-keep. I implore you all to listen to this album and you won’t regret it

Stream the “Goodbye to all that” album on Spotify and SoundCloud

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