By John Bedard
I’m having a hard time figuring out where I want to start with this one. The whole experience is more subtle than I expected it to be. In a good way. There is a clear emotional tone to how every track is put together guiding your experience; but it is an experience that is hard to put into words. It is beautiful, though.
The music never gets in your face. Instead, it stays pretty reserved through the experience and focusing on really memorable arrangements rather than just being loud and powerful. It feels refined. Mixing a distorted bass and guitar with a very clean piano is a sure way to win points with me but it goes deeper than just that and there are many other styles exhibited even though there are only four tracks. Every note seems very carefully selected to make a memorable experience and I think they nailed it.
Following on from what I was saying above, the vocals also have this softer refined feeling to them that really completes the experience. Apart from the breathing at the beginning of track three, ‘Wither’, where you can hear a poor transition where the loop restarts, no other notes feel out of place. There is clear passion and intention to the experience and there is something comforting about the softer vocals that I found refreshing.
This is not what I was expecting but I totally loved Blackened Sky. I think this is one that is worth your time for sure. There is a lot of depth packed into such a short album. The whole experience feels both very satisfying and complete while also leaving me wanting more. That is a hard balance to strike and it is done expertly here. Pick this one up. You will not regret it.
- ‘Blackened Sky’ is released on Wednesday (10 March). You can get your copy HERE.
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