Review Summary: Flowers bloom here.
When halfway through the journey of our life
I found that I was in a gloomy wood,
because the path which led aright was lost.
It’s been a while since I have read that quote, far longer than I can remember, and yet, listening to this album, it popped into my brain and I was not able to shake it out, perhaps the fact that I too feel to be at a crossroad in my life plays a big part in it, being 32 years old is not something easily lost in me these days, what with all the responsibilities that came from fathering my little bundle of joy.
Be that as it may, when popping “Lunar Reflection” in, I was reminded of what simplicity can actually do for you. To be quite honest, this is not a groundbreaking album at all, as it simply lays itself bare and asks not much from the listener, other than to just give it some breathing room to do its thing, it just wants you to take a second to listen to what it has to say, be it much or little is of no consequence.
Songs like “Digging Myself Out” are really great to drive this feeling home and it's a great way to get the actual pulse of this thing, as it just amps itself out and just goes all out with fun, driving, and great leads, some pretty unexpected shoegaze bridges, and an all-out assault by lead guitarist/singer Malia Endres, it’s not about anything other than how well executed it all is.
To get a bit more personal, at a time in my life where so many things feel to be spiraling out of control, I too have made a conscious/subconscious choice to check out, to just close my eyes to all the difficulties around me and try to stay in and put out the fires from hells of my own, yet Endres and co. actively go out of their way, lyrically, to try to reach out to people (even if their lyrics can feel a bit undercooked sometimes) and to remind us that things may be hard but that it’s okay to be overwhelmed so long as you know you can push through, It is odd for me to relate so much to lyrics like the ones on “Where Does It Go?” at my age, but by allowing them to do so, I am reminded that not all music need be outstanding to be impactful.
As is the case with most things of such nature, this album is mostly an exercise in execution and not so much about the technical ability of the band members, the production can feel a bit sterile some times, the album is incredibly top-heavy with a pretty strong shift to a more subdued tone from Embers onwards, and there are some really odd style choices in songs such as the halfway point of “Nurture” and a totally unnecessary acoustic track in “Spiral Through” when it could have very easily been a part of the great closer “Lunation”.
Give it a go and forget about stuff for a bit.
