‘They passively divide us through technology’
My friends. if truth be told, we seem to be getting no further forward into the realms of improvement in our condition, in our sanity and in how the world is.
Our Swedish cousins Soen started the New Year with ‘Reliance’ their seventh album and they join their peers by weighing in with their opinions and advisory perception. The disgusting shapes of delinquency that we are facing, the corrupt are indeed worse than you could ever imagine. They present a case for demolition and rebuild in a meticulously planned and structured format with their art.
Looking at the songs, all titles are limited to one word, nice change from ‘Midnight Shadows Crawl To Darken Counsel With Life’ – see Cradle of Filth.
The first single ‘Primal’ is depicted in striking red and black, red for blood and danger and black for the darkness we are trapped in. The lyrics provide much needed substance and sustenance, and we believe that things will be better soon.
The idea of ‘crowning vultures into kings’ is something that we have been blindly led into. We have always been told to believe the news, to trust people in authority, and now look where we are. It’s like we have been dropped from a great height with no one to catch us.
In ‘Discordia’ I love the little twinkly section at 2.07, it is sublime, it is soft yet purposeful. The video sees the band in quiet contemplation, each sitting with their own thoughts. There is a strength, we all need time to think about and appraise what we have and decide if a reckoning is due.
The band are Joel Ekelöf – vocals, Martin Lopez – drums, Lars EnokÅhlund – keys/guitar, Cody Ford – lead guitar and Stefan Stenberg on bass, the musicianship is powerful, and alongside this intensity, all respect is afforded to life’s more subtle and sensitive aspects.
When I read the title ‘Huntress’ I immediately thought of the late Jill Janus, sometimes we feel we have no one, we are so entrenched in misery that death is seen as the only way out.
The timeless beauty of ‘Indifferent’ is stunningly portrayed in the video, elegant and sweeping, it is as heartbreaking as it is uplifting. The chorus repeated at the end cements our connection with the people in our lives. It needed to be said, and it needed to be restated.
‘How does someone become so cold and indifferent?’
We end with the wistful romanticism of ‘Vellichor’ suitably titled as we reminisce, the age old parchment, the ichor, and the forgotten tales they animate for us to embrace and appreciate amidst the devastation we suffer.
Soen bring an accurate commentary, they bring peace, they bring love and light.
They can be sure of our reliance and our alliance.
Azra Pathan
Soen – Reliance out now.