The Reviewer’s Union is an elite club, a place where a happy bunch of obsessives ply their (unpaid in the main part) trade in a collective spirit of love and harmony.
Thus, it was that I was kindly introduced to The Echo Veils by David Edwards of The Progressive Aspect, and I am extremely grateful to him for pointing out this outfit to me.
Their May 2024 release, The Calm Beneath the Noise, has attracted some very positive interest in our little progressive world. This is a duo consisting of Guillermo Garcia (vocals, keys, orchestral arrangements) and Poli Elizondo (guitars, keys, and orchestral arrangements). See more and purchase the digital album at https://theechoveils.bandcamp.com/album/the-calm-beneath-the-noise
We have thirteen tracks here, so let’s discuss and play some fine music. The Old Light starts us off with a bright and sunny disposition behind it (it becomes clear that this is reminiscent, as opposed to live), and Garcia when he enters has an expressive voice which matches the equally feeling piano and keys, featuring a very good bass melody, Elizondo showing some class fretwork, with acoustic guitar creating the atmosphere and a fine riff three minutes in followed by solid work at the close. A good start to proceedings, reflective, and full of emotion recalling what was.
Ocean follows. There is an official video for this, and it is embedded below. I know that David really enjoyed this, and I share his appreciation of what is at its heart a love song, similar in spirit, I think, to Marillion’s Fantastic Place, that wish to be taken away to a special place, and forever, never letting the moment go. The vocals are quite lovely, the piano, discreet synths, bass melody, and acoustic guitar creating a special template for the voice. The guitar solo when it enters, and continues, has the same impact as Rothery in the aforementioned piece, oozing emotion with the voice plaintively crying alongside it. A definite contender for a “take me away” award on this website’s annual awards when they come along, quite beautiful.
Dashboard Song is next. A lonely piano introduces the piece before another expressive vocal talking of a passionate love, the guitar very much again in the Rothery school of quiet power. The bass guitar works so hard underneath this, a gorgeous set of melodies produced in a fine song which is commercial at its core and deserves a wide audience, the release of “I can breathe” accompanied by a crying guitar solo.
Seasons is a pastoral delight, a mood which I believe is influenced by Paul Simon’s work, and absolutely rooted within the human experience. The piano is so sweet, an acoustic guitar played as a lead rhythm, and some very delicate orchestration taking us through the seasons influencing the love, which kept the showers at bay, at the core of this quite sumptuous piece of music, which I embed below.
Love That Kills also has an official video, which I embed below alongside the gorgeous piece which preceded it. It is a song of separation, the paramour still smelling his lost love. The love that kills in silence is matched by ever so quiet an intensity, a wonderful example of folk rock with solid progressive sensibilities, the guitar and bow combining to sad effect. The solo produced by Elizondo is simply gorgeous, matching the mood perfectly, the sadness and regret crying out as we enter the closing segment.
Love Is Shining follows. The thumping and effects presage a track which talks to us of the eternal misunderstanding between lovers, of wanting to spend a day in the head of the other half simply to understand how their mind works. It is, therefore, another piece of music which is roots, fundamentally about the reality of the human experience, and it is rather complex in its execution, a very thoughtful piece of music, and the more I hear Garcia sing, the more I warm to his expressiveness. The guitar solo when it arrives has the warmth of a Knopfler piece, itself leading to such an expansion of emotion with the voices, an Americana delight, and listen to that bass at the close.
Late Night Train takes us on a passionate journey which might have come off the rails, but is no less intense, the messing with the head, all delivered with that by now trademark intensity without the noise, with some further harmonies. Three minutes in, the drama simply takes off, the music soaring above a funk-laden underbelly. It is embedded below. Revel in the never-ending journey as a metaphor for the feelings which never end.
Last Exit has some gorgeous guitar notes at its core, filling the listener with such clever depth in a track looking back, urging the chance to try again without the pain. The orchestration takes over alongside the crying vocal before the guitar wahs the end of a life full of what might have been, a blues song for our times.
The title track follows this, a very reflective piece of music, with another blues-infused guitar accompanying the piano, the vocals thoughtful before we get an explosion of noise, with the voice talking of being swept off his feet, again, and the mood takes a sudden turn to both excitement and anger, a sort of up and down of a relationship.
Broken is the shortest track at just a tad over three minutes, and is a direct follow on, the vocals talking of not wanting to let go, and certainly surrender the love felt. It has some more very pretty harmonies, the orchestration, though, crying out the sadness of separation and regret. The guitar solo when it arrives is mournful.
Starlight, in contrast, is the longest track, at seven and a half minutes long. There is some lovely symphonic orchestration in the opening passage, the piano taking the lead, in a song I believe represents the catharsis of moving beyond the failed relationship to the future, the guitar solo, achingly sad, providing us with the last lament for what was and what could have been. I must say that Elizondo is a real contender for my musical find of the year, because his guitar work on this album is simply divine. The track again as it moves towards its denouement builds in such intensity as the regret spills over. A track I would love to see live with a proper orchestra.
The penultimate track is No Surprises. It has some synth work which takes the listener up, contemplative, rather than dark, buried in the arms of sorrow in a song which also has some very nice pastoral moments contemplating whether love is a real emotion, or simply the product of a chemical impulse.
We finish with Places, a more experimental feel to this one, lyrically returning to the thrill of first touches and passion, the piano and acoustic guitar so mournfully beautiful in the memory of the exploration of the physical touch and exploration. Garcia excels vocally on this, his voice creating a pastiche. Listen to it embedded below, a fitting conclusion to the album, the rain beating down.
There is a danger with albums such as this that the sorrowful separation, and the emotions within that, make a work morose, and it is very difficult to escape this. Indeed, many of the recent more corporate music simply involves hateful wailing; think Adele as a decent example.
The Echo Veils masterfully escape this. This album is an intelligent work, cathartic for sure, but also allowing the listener to contemplate their own relationships, past and present, and how these shape the people we are now. Musically and sonically, a joy to listen to, I really do recommend this album very strongly.