Embers – Part of the Echoes

Alternative Rock | Indie Rock | Post Punk

87%

Writing this feels more like an obituary than a review. Embers have been one of my favourite discoveries of the year, and after just a few singles they quickly became firm Belwood favourites and were among a handful of acts in consideration for the “Spotlight!” Award. The news that they had decided to break up, to end before they had even really begun, came like a punch to the gut. As a parting gift Embers have left behind Part of the Echoes, their first and last album, a fitting testament to their talents and a glimpse of what might have been. With soundscapes ranging from dark, oppressive post punk dungeons to vast hazy mountaintops of dream pop, there’s so much here to marvel at. I urge each and every one of you to take the plunge and explore this wonderful record.

The bombastic drums of ‘Sins Unknown’ kicks the record off in furious fashion, the title track sounds like a jubilant ascent into heaven, while the subdued electronics of ‘Drowning’ add an extra dose of drama to the mix. ‘Shadows’ grows from a mellow orchestral intro to a full blown supernova of sound, while the slow burning ‘Hollow Cage’ shows them at their most grandiose and expansive. Under different circumstances I may have commented about a lack of flow and the album being too long, but beggars can’t be choosers, and what in another life may have been too many songs, here it just feels like a single drop in a vast ocean. Part of the Echoes feels like a precious treasure, a rare flower emerging from the snow, and will remain an important record to me for a good long while.