Beginning with ‘Airbourne Ashes’ New York-based artist ‘Eartheater’ trembles over guitar strings and an ’80s like sound with morbidly beautiful lyrics simplified for maximum impact. Wailing through a touching storylike melody, she charms her way into the song, taking her time to reach motive.
The second offering, ‘Metallic Taste of Patience‘ makes use of strings and flirts with a cinematic appeal. A strong undertaking that remains calm until its meaningful point emerges into a solo violin that controls attention with its short appearance.
The album feels like you’re trapped in a coma that strangely feels comfortable, almost trance-like through beautiful synths and strings on songs like ‘Below the Clavicle‘. PFADUMS surprises, and can abruptly change as it does when an intermission track ‘Burning Feather‘ interrupts. This slowly merges back into song through an entrance in the form of ‘How To Fight‘, the album’s lead single that flirts with adventurous sound and contemporary folk formula.
‘Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin‘ is an experimental album raging with ethereal audio and lyrical remarks that keep surprising as they go on.
‘Volcano‘ and ‘Fantasy Collision‘ somehow transit between each other effortlessly, despite being very different canvases. Forget the meaning of each individual song, the album exudes careful planning but remains playful and creative through a deft attention to detail.
Drewchin’s sampling and intense explorative rhythm douse immense visual substance into your mind, asking you to imagine a universe in song that violates all the laws of musical boundary. ‘Bringing Me Back‘ plays with a softer sound and poetic understanding that draws back a curtain of expression: “Seems the more I say, the less I mean” she softly delivers over plucked guitars and ghostly vocals that feel trapped.
The album ends on a high note with ‘Diamond in the Bedrock‘ and ‘Faith Consuming Hope‘ leaving you gasping for more. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but the album is full and vibrant with dark-coloured assertions. Its effort lies solely in the music which the vocals blend beautifully with. It’s an endeavour deserving of a compatible platform to truly put forth its ideas.
‘Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin‘ is almost an orchestral masterpiece. It highlights conviction to new ideas and ultimately displays an intimate portrait of the artist demonstrated peacefully, though violently emotional. There is a temptation to award ‘Eartheater‘ full marks here, though its effort is almost flawless, I feel it doesn’t go far enough.
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Stanisland Magazine 