ETERNAL RETURN
Once Only NEWDOG
Respected proggers combine to craft emotive debut.
E
nsembles formed from various ambient prog base camps can veer towards either inspiration or indulgence. Eternal Return get it right, diving into allusive/elusive sounds as opposed to showing off their proficiency for the sake of it. The five-piece claim to be exploring the terrain of Talk Talk, David Sylvian and This Mortal Coil. While they can’t match such transcendent levels, the best sections of their six-track debut find the sweet spot between artful and abstract, especially the nebulous suite moving from A Medium-Sized Village through to The Bottom Of The Pond.
The almost subliminal feedback of
guitars and sudden breakout of percussion suggest Laughing Stock as a muse. Elsewhere there’s a brushstroke of the baroque pomp of Shearwater.