We Speak Music
Shannon Smith drops infectious earworm ‘Dance The Night Away’

“Dance the Night Away” is an upbeat and energetic pop-soul / pop-rock song that’s infectiously catchy and toe tappingly satisfying. Hailing from Fremantle WA, this first single from his debut solo album finds Shannon Smith in a melodic pop-soul frame of mind, sounding something like Van Morrison in an especially good mood. Its well-crafted lyrics and emotive vocals create an engaging narrative, whilst the joyful melody and chorus make it a guaranteed listener favourite and one all mighty earworm!
“Dance The Night Away” is a toast to the first flush of romance. It’s the giddy feeling that comes with newfound love – ‘Let’s go driving down the freeway/Feel the wind blow through our hair/Leave our worries all behind us/We can dance the night away’. Spring is in the air and in his step and you can just feel the energy in the recording studio as the band vibes on the groove and the keyboards and horns flavour the song with soulful flourishes. Ain’t love grand? Sure sounds like it here.
Although this is Shannon’s debut single, he has been performing for many many years. Raised within a musical family amidst an atmosphere of creativity and live performance, Shannon is a born and bred musician. He has played thousands of shows in all manner of formats – including acclaimed tributes to the likes of Fleetwood Mac, ABBA and Beach Boys.
His ‘70s sensibilities are in the blood and bones of this multi-instrumentalist’s songs, which evoke the soulful climes of inspirational artists such as Steely Dan, The Beatles, The Eagles and 10cc, complemented by his deep love of Americana and alt-country music.
We Speak Music
Unethical Dogma Pull Back The Dark Curtain For A Carefully Engineered Descent into Technical Melancholy
Unethical Dogma return on Behind The Dark Curtain feels less like a standalone EP and more like the final act of a deliberately constructed psychological arc. Across its runtime, the band commits fully to its horror-driven narrative framework, closing the conceptual thread that began with DUSK. The result is a release that feels cohesive, intentional, and structurally disciplined rather than loosely assembled.
Instrumentally, the EP leans heavily into polyrhythmic complexity and tightly wound djent grooves, but what stands out most is how often the band resists pure technical display in favor of atmosphere. Piano passages and choral textures are not ornamental—they function as emotional anchors, giving the heavier sections a sense of collapse rather than just aggression. The contrast between brutality and fragility is handled with noticeable care.
The vocal performance is equally dual-layered. Screamed vocals carry the narrative’s psychological deterioration with intensity, while clean vocals are used sparingly to emphasize moments of reflection or detachment. This dynamic avoids predictability by making restraint as important as force, especially in transitions where the story shifts perspective.
Lyrically and conceptually, the EP benefits from its unusual writing process, which begins with short stories before being translated into music. That foundation is audible in how scenes unfold rather than verses simply progressing. The storytelling feels cinematic, as if each track is a chapter viewed through unstable memory.
Overall, Behind The Dark Curtain succeeds most when it trusts its atmosphere over its technical ambition. It is a dense, carefully designed work that prioritizes immersion, and while it demands patience, it rewards listeners who engage with its narrative structure rather than just its surface complexity.
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