by Russ Marshalek

After the phenomenal Intensify, the superstar DJ duo of Jody Wisternoff and Nick Warren returned to their Way Out West project with a new addition: that of vocalist Omi. As a trio, Way Out West returned to the dance music world with its newest release, Don't Look Now. Both instantly accessible and completely different than any of the prior albums, those longtime WOW fans to whom tracks like "The Gift" and "Mindcircus" will forever be associated with the sight of the early-morning sunrise, will find the same beauty tinged with darkness here that Way Out West has come to stand for. From the album's opener, "Anything But You," the tone of Don't Look Now is set—a gorgeous yet insistent break backs Omi's insistent chant of "anything but you/just won't do". This is an album of passion, with more vocals and song structure than any could have imagined. But don't let that frighten off those looking for the ass-shaking basslines.

First off, yes, Omi is featured on many of the twelve tracks here, but she's no weak dime-a-dozen trance diva. Check the powerfully tribal, "Fear," for the proof AND the pudding as to why Nick and Jody signed her on full-time; not only do her pipes hold a range that seems impossible for her small frame, but lyrically she's capable of gems like "rummage through my soul and find no limits/rummage through my soul and find no fear". Second, the progression towards song writing is something WOW as a production team has always leaned; every single they've released has been in some form or fashion of a verse/chorus/verse sort, and tracks like "Mindcircus" could very well have worked on pop radio (if pop radio was actually good). However, what might startle many is the extreme ambiance of many tracks here. Ulrich Schnauss worked with the boys a bit, and his influence is obvious not only on the album's tripped-out closer, "Absinthe Dreams", but in the way those infamous WOW treble highs have been replaced with swirling walls of sound only apparent on the third, fourth or fifth listen. And let that be a warning: if you come to Don't Look Now expecting Intensify Vol. 2, you're going to throw it against a wall. Live with it a day, a week, a year. You might not hear any of this stuff (outside of "Apollo") being hammered by your favorite prog/breaks DJ, but you'll find yourself singing it in the shower and letting it soundtrack your daily life. And isn't that the true measure of a good song?

Ddon't Look Now
by Way Out West
Disc 1:

1. Anything But You
2. Don’t Forget Me
3. Everyday
4. Apollo
5. Changes
6. Fear
7. Coming Home
8. Just Like A Man
9. Killa
10. Northern Lights
11. Melt
12. Absinthe Dreams

1. Jukka V - Seaside Floater
2. Way Out West - Buzz
3. Grayarea - Gravity
4. Martin Buttrich - Meeting Dave Dish
5. Hiratzka & Kazell - Venice Dawn (Way Out West Edit)
6. BlueRoomRoject - Out of Area (Habersham and Numinous Remix)
7. D'Malicious -The Last Song on Earth
8. Way Out West – Fistf**ker
9. Cirez’d - Deep Inside