Christmas time usually brings about Christmas music. Many artist or labels use this season to produce a Christmas album. Though many times artist do not use this as an opportunity to develop new sounds or experiment with these traditional Christmas pieces. They use instead the holiday as a marketing strategy to get money, but not really produce an album that non fans would grasp and want. There are exceptions to these mediocre Christmas albums, and Future of Forestry’s Advent EP is one of them.
Future of Forestry had just came out with Twilight their LP in 2007. It was a very good album, but many listeners found potential where this group could further develop their sound and become something unique. I think the Advent EP started that journey for this band. Since then the group has developed a 3 part Travel EP series. Where each EP has a different sound and feel to it. Something many bands will not do. And then came a 2nd Advent EP.
But let’s focus on this remarkable set that Future of Forestry put together in these 5 songs. First come O Come O Come Emmanuel but the new sound starts on this track. At the beginning we are treated to brass horns in the background as the guitar plays on top. The music builds with layers as more and more instrumentation is added in. Eric Owyoung’s voice works well in this song. And before it ends in a very soft acoustic guitar and whisper vocals. It makes for a very nice bookend. This is probably my favorite rendition of the traditional song.
Then comes What Child is This which starts with cello and non verbal vocal sounds. And then builds into piano driven melody. Before strings and guitars build into a beautiful musical climax that can not be missed. I really like this version. Then there is The First Noel which is mostly acoustic. This isn’t my favorite rendition of this classic song. That would be Trans Siberian Orchestra guitar orchestra version. But this version is very cool and worth putting in any Christmas mix CD or adding to a Christmas playlist on your MP3 player.
Then comes Little Drummer Boy with a snare drum to start. Non verbal vocals join until we hear a guitar and Eric singing the vocals. Then layer guitars fill the spectrum as the sound becomes fuller and builds. Then a solo guitar comes in as percussion starts a tribal beat. Then comes the closing O Holy Night. This is an epic 7 minute song that fills your ears with beautiful sounds. It starts with simple keyboard and vocals. Cello and bells join in and create a beautiful soundscape. This song is probably my favorite on the album. And Eric's vocals fit perfectly with this song.
Advent Christmas EP is a treasure to your ears. Owyoung and his friends take each track and make it unique and special. This is a must have and should be downloaded. The only gripe I have about this is that it is only available as a MP3 download and not in CD format. I like MP3s but the compression sometimes leaves out many intrincities that you hear in a CD format. Another problem with this release is that is only 5 songs. Wish it was a full LP. But the fact that this group has now come out with 5 EPs in 2 years it is best that this release was only 5 songs so we could enjoy the new EPs that came after it.
