Abronia have returned in full strength with the imposing and dreamlike Map of Dawn.
Available this Friday on Feeding Tube and Cardinal Fuzz Records, the band’s third LP blends their unique brand of mystical psychedelic rock with the sounds and vibes of early goth and post rock.
The scale of these songs is incredibly vast, with long sustaining power chords, layers of reverb and a thick production that makes the band sound immense. While there may have always been a cinematic aspect to Abronia’s music, this quality is super apparent here.
Take “Wave of the Hand,” for instance. The track sounds like something from the soundtrack of an epic acid western. The piece is almost broken up into different stages. It begins with a lonesome harmonica and dusty guitar duet before the band kicks it into high gear and rocks out with monster riffs and a primal drum beat. Then things abruptly slow down, and the pedal steel dances like ribbons of grey smoke around the group’s ghostly harmony vocals. From there, Abronia launches into a total hurricane of a jam, complete with red-hot shredding and saxophone war cries. You can easily imagine scenes of charging cavalries, peyote-inspired spirit visions and sweeping grand desert vistas while listening to this and most of the other songs on the LP.
Meanwhile, the post-rock and gothic inspirations come through heavily on tracks like “Game,” with their deep, minimalist beats and atmospheric blend of pedal steel, crashing cymbals and singer Keelin Mayer’s Nico-meets-Siouxsie Sioux-like vocals. The cold and shadowy specter of death certainly looms over songs like this one.
If you’re in need of a doomy slice of kosmische desert rock, Abronia’s Map of Dawn is a perfect choice.
If you’re in the US, click here to get your copy from Feeding Tube Records and if you’re a UK reader, click here to order your vinyl from Cardinal Fuzz.
-KH
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