Radiohead and Coldplay were the main artists to which Aqualung - a one-man project by Matthew Hales - was compared when the 2002 debut album of the same name was released. The same applies to the second album Still Life, because once again the similarities with these British bands are evident. Still Life is dominated by calm, atmospheric listening songs, full of drama and melancholy; Hales is not
… afraid to reveal his entire inner life. He accompanies himself on piano or Fender Rhodes and is accompanied by a band (with his brother Ben on guitar) and strings are added regularly. More solid songs like the single Brighter Than Sunshine and Left Behind (which would not have been out of place on Coldplays A Rush Of Blood To The Head) are alternated with quieter songs behind the piano such as Extraordinary Thing. Aqualung may not have an original sound, Still Life has turned out to be a great album. (IV)more