On the last day of summer, Rhys Marsh And The Autumn Ghost return with their third full-length record, 'The Blue Hour', in which Marsh leads them into another bold sonic-territory.
The trademark combination of dynamics & melancholy remains, though this time the strings & Mellotrons have stepped aside for brass & woodwind ensembles. There is also a noticeable change in the vocal presentation — the thickly-layered harmonies have now been stripped back to a more monophonic point of focus. All of these elements come together beautifully, giving the album an incredibly warm & intimate atmosphere.
From the outset — the hypnotic rhythms & longing woodwind arrangement of 'And I Wait', which slowly unfurls over seven minutes, after which heading straight into the sixties-tinged 'Read The Cards', with its heavily-staccatoed horn section & old-school double drums — it's clear that Marsh is pushing further forward.
From here, the album twists and turns even further, from the dulcet tones & enticing polyrhythms of 'The Movements Of Our Last Farewell', to the frantically-paced 'Wooden Heart' — which, even with several intense dynamic-shifts & irregular time-signature changes, still manages to swing — before coming to an end with elegantly-psychedelic 'One More Moment'.
For 'The Blue Hour', Marsh has once again assembled a new Autumn Ghost, this time featuring the cream of the crop of the contemporary Norwegian music scene. In fact,this is the first album on which Marsh has chosen to feature an entirely Norwegian line-up, borrowing from bands such as Jaga Jazzist, The National Bank, Emmerhoff And The Melancholy Babies & Pelbo, along with collaborators of Susanne Sundfør, Kaizers Orchestra & Magnet. This also marks the first occasion that an Autumn Ghost album has been written & recorded entirely in Norway.
'The Blue Hour' will be released on Termo Records & will be available from all good record shops & online outlets.
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"Richly-orchestrated dramatic pop."
Adresseavisen
"Melancholic and complex music, filled with unexpected chord progressions, rich layers of Mellotron and emotionally-loaded vocals."
Norway Rock Magazine
"It may challenge your idea of what progressive music should sound like."
Tarkus Magazine
"A beautiful auburn empire."
DotShop.se
"A dreamy slice of progressive pop that doesn't sound quite like anything else we've heard in a long time."
Popsicle
"Inspiring and gorgeous, albeit heartbreaking, classical-countered sophisticated pop. A dizzying spectacle of spell-woven beauty."
Losing Today
"Nick Drake is the obvious touchstone here, but Marsh doesn't sound like a clone. Instead, like kindred spirit Eric Matthews, Marsh is an unabashed fan of the same shimmering folk/pop sound and wants to adapt to the 21st century. Based on this beautiful record, he's succeeded handily."
The Big Takeover
"This music is dream-like and melancholy. The songs approach you quietly, yet their resonance casts a spell. It's a mixture of magical, touching, somewhat off-beat and yet, despite pop elements, anything but simplistic."
Nonpop
"'The Fragile Of Inbetween' is sophisticated pop-prog at its best. It is a charming and great album, which in its field, stands like a monolith and supersedes most of what we have heard in the past years."
Merlin Prog
"These songs rise from near-silence to a full-on assault of the senses within a heartbeat, then curl up again in a sea of melancholy."
BBC Radio 6
"A modern progressive tour de force, full of darkness and beauty."
Decoded
"The year's autumn soundtrack."
Natt&Dag
