London-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Sam Uctas has never been one to play it safe, and he's staying true to that audacious ethos with his new album, "The Dark Made Sense". Over the course of its seven tracks and 33 minutes, Uctas presents a record that is daring and emotionally disarming, mixed with grace in a way that feels refreshingly unmanufactured.
Recorded in isolation, from the first note to the last fader move, "The Dark Made Sense" deconstructs music to its human essence. There is no gloss, no pretension, only the unfiltered pulse of an artist laying his craft bare. Influenced by Hemingway's iceberg theory, Uctas employs minimalism with purpose. Each track is alive with space, tension, and meaning. His music resists easy categorization, with the gritty punch of rock and funk colliding with the layered expansiveness of avant-pop and art rock.
Hearing tracks like "Pulp" and "The Incurable Diseases," you can tell Uctas isn't after trends, but he's after truth. "Pulp" kicks and squalls with some of the gritty darkness of distorted guitars. "The Incurable Diseases" is achingly beautiful, that bare-bones production letting the feeling drip from every note. Both tracks are recordings that reveal his skill in combining technical prowess and a feeling of storytelling whose essence is timeless and personal.
That, in part, is what makes "The Dark Made Sense" extraordinary lies in its unwillingness to hide behind perfection. Uctas leans into the imperfections, where there's noise, distortion, and rough edges galore, but somehow it all connects in a manner that comes across as deeply purposeful. It says stuff and moves around, like a record that breathes, sweats, and feels alive. In an age of polish and playlists, Sam Uctas reminds us what music might still be, imperfectly perfect, achingly human, and unafraid to find the truth in the dark.
