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.
Collaborating within are Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), guitarist Robert Jurjendal (Toyah/Fripp) and drummer Miguel Toro, linking up with the duo Dogon, whose singer Paul Godwin at first sounds too preciously assertive. However, as things settle in to take a trek into thoughtful ambivalence, so does he. By the time we emerge into farewell track The Sky, a sense of peace, tranquility and serenity has been found and, importantly, earned.
CR