Being penned as “nu-prog pioneers’, The Crystal Sun release their debut studio album Landscape, steeped in a hazy late 60′, early 70′ delicate pop through to motorik rhythms and mellotron freak-outs.
Landscape starts with Sunhoney, all bubbling brooks, bird some and ambient atmospheres, morphing into a sweet, simple acoustic guitar and slow flute melody, moving straight into There Is A Field Beyond All Nations Of Good And Evil, with a harder kraut motorik edge, dischordant organ lines, pulsing synths shifting to prog guitar workouts. The title track plods at almost a dirge, whereas Orffyreus’ Wheel moves at some pace with fuzzed out guitar and kraut drums. Devoid of drums, Hallucinating Angel expels exactly that, an other worldly vibe hidden in a sea of echo and effects. Its this shift from pastoral to motorik that makes this album a compelling listen, shifting from quiet to loud, slow to fast, delicate to forceful… There seems to be an effortless presence here, yes, the progressive rock influences are there, but also the urgency of a post-punk ethic, coupled with a psychedelic backdrop oozing with textural sounds, mostly instrumental, with the occasional vocal that is treated to seem disembodied, detached from reality.
A great album, teaming up with the perfect label for their work, “analogue solutions for a digital ageâ€, is exactly what has been achieved here.
Wayne Stronell
