Track 1, an epic instrumental.
Track 2, some sort of acoustic-sounding pop.
Track 3, poppy metal.
That’s Eidola’s new album, Mend. If I had to focus on some sort of musical thread, everything is definitely produced to a pop standard. There might be intensity, there might be breakdowns, screaming, but there’s pop throughout. Is that a good thing? Bad thing?
Like most music, it’s mood dependent. There’s definitely a vibe that this sort of intense pop sound fits into perfectly. An arctic cold blast, which was happening while I listened to this, might not be it, but once the sun comes out, yeah. Roll down the windows and enjoy the sun type of music. And if there’s a moment you don’t like, wait a second or two because these songs are journeys.
Almost no song begins and ends in the same tonal way. And while it’s nice to have these journeys, I’m dumb and lazy. Which means this is one of those albums that’ll have to grow on me – once it becomes predictable to my small brain, I’ll be leaving it on rotation.
HIGHLIGHTS: Look, I’m a sucker for acoustic pop music that isn’t actually acoustic pop. I don’t care about your baby baby baby, k? In saying that, obviously Prodigy is one of the highlights. Because it’s acoustic pop vibe without actually being acoustic pop. Blood In The Water has a some nice ear candy. The Faustian Spirit has some much wanted intensity.
LOWLIGHTS: Not exactly a song, but a style – all the songs take seemingly forever to get to the point. Like, they’re pop produced, but don’t follow the pop rule of “chorus in 30 seconds or bust”. No matter how intense the songs are, no matter the overall vibe they’re attempting, it takes a while to get there, and I’m finding myself impatient and not wanting to wait. Maybe that’s why Prodigy is my favourite – you get what you get from the first second.
