SUM OF ERDA

It's strange, the places you can come across valuable new music; as a recent user of Reddit, I joined the Prog Rock Music subreddit in the hopes of chatting with some fellow prog enthusiasts, and predictably, everybody was talking about the same old things I'd imagined they would be. However, after scrolling down for a while, I finally came across something I didn't recognise - someone had posted 'Eventide' by Guranfoe. Intrigued, I gave it a listen. I have to say - for the first half of the song, I genuinely thought that the band must have been from the 1970's, the sound was so authentic, and it was only upon listening further and looking up the band that I realised that the album had come out only five days earlier. I had to give more songs a listen, and 'Sum Of Erda' very quickly became one of my easiest purchases of 2019.

What Guranfoe manage to achieve on 'Sum Of Erda' is a wonderful balance between the heady atmospheres and genuine feel of 1970's prog groups, and current styles. It's easy to tell that the group are genuine prog enthusiasts, and have learnt from the masters, encapsulating things that made early-days prog brilliant and fusing them with their own modern sensibility, and the best part is that it doesn't sound copycat or stale in any way. There isn't a second on the album that reminds me too much of something else, nor are there any moments that feel like they're trying too hard to sound authentic. These guys aren't attempting to figure out what prog is - they're just living it.

The album itself is a luscious painting of sound, featuring a strong core band, and augmented by other instrumentalists that bring vital elements to the mix. While no songs feature vocals, their musicianship shines through and makes for very interesting and enjoyable tracks nonetheless, moving through sections that both compliment and contrast, at times. Discordant guitars, heavenly flutes, crashing drums, vibraphones and a whole array of instruments are present across the album, and not a single one is unnecessary or out of place - everything serves a perfect purpose, merging to create a wonderful canvas of music. It's an album that goes down easily, pleasing to the ear, and feels quite polished, without being overly so. Overall, I think Guranfoe are very good at what they do, and if this is the first studio offering from them, I can't wait to see what comes next.