Review Summary: This beauty which I hold within my hand is fleeting.
That's what I think when listening to
Forgotten Paths. This is in part due to it's own brevity. Never has a Saor album felt more like a brief stream of wind rather than a massive winter storm. Of course, the extravagant song length and structures are still there as aside from the outro, nothing clocks in under 10 minutes. This leaves only 3 tracks, which begs the question- has Saor made the most of them?
That, my dear reader, is a resounding yes. The track
Forgotten Paths kicks in with a passion and energy that creates a burning hole through your chest. Through unyielding blast beats, desperate howls and an array of intertwining melodies Saor conjures a sound of melancholy that has been awashed with beauty.
Then comes
Monadh. The explosive opener prior is now instead a faint ripple created by a piano and acoustic which almost melt together into a single somber note. The desperate howls have now become raspy barks, as if the desperation has grown into both sadness and anger. However these soon subside into an extravagant ensemble of tremolo guitar work, flutes and violin.
This contrasts sharply with the beginning
Bròn, a song that brings the brunt of Saor's ferocity, like a mystical flail smashing down fortresses. It's a fitting time for this too, as it feels much like one final march, one last destructive current before it subsides into the silent pulse of
Exile. By then, the journey is over, the goodbyes have been made, and it is then you realize-38 minutes was but a single blink. One tiny mote of time.
That's what I love. In every effort they put forth Saor makes something that feels like something to be cherished, like all the overwhelming realities and pains of the world should be paused, if only to appreciate the rare cracks of beauty within it. They make me forget about the world around me, and that is what I love.
