After releasing the very successful debut EP ‘Ad Astra’ (which has now at the time of writing, amassed 200,000 plays on Spotify), Sydney based prog outfit Intrøspect have released their second EP named, ‘Midnight Sun’.
Female-fronted vocals, chuggy riffs, funky bass, groovy drums, Intrøspect push their music to the sonic realm with their melodies, chord progressions, symphonies and after-effects.
Setting the scene with the very famous words from the work of astronomer Carl Sagan’s ‘Pale Blue Dot’, is always a perfect addition if you want to create a space for minds to float, and feel at peace.
The record then seamlessly transitions into the first track that was released as a single, ‘Mjolnir’. The name comes from the Norse mythology as the name of Thor’s hammer, ‘Mjolnir’ is written about the destruction of the Earth, and that humans are all God’s without grace and we do not know how to wield this power that we all have.
Backed up by a groovy chunky riff, and some help from feature Liam McDonald from Infinite Illusion implementing his range of scream vocals all throughout the song. The rest of the EP comprises life messaging and symbolism helped by metaphors within the song titles. We are treated to a more mellow and dreamy track, ‘Itomori’, the love song of the EP. With some beautiful tone, beautiful jazzy guitar solo with ride cymbal action, creating a beautiful image for the hope within a relationship, no matter how challenging things may be. ‘Wisdom of Mountains’ and ‘Leap of Faith’ could be seen as continuations from ‘Itomori’, with the fluctuation of melody, timbre and volume within each track and the meaning behind each of the songs following the lines of sitting really low and needing guidance and taking a Leap of Faith, (hence the song title), jumping straight into something and taking that gamble. Ending this EP is the longest track on the record, ‘Star’s End’.
Through the words of guitarist Loko Mcdonald, “it got all the elements of what we are as a band…there’s a beauty in art and we have come to the realisation that the more we try the better we succeed”. Capturing your sound is something some bands don’t accomplish until after multiple album releases, but it shows that Intrøspect is a band that will defy the odds and power through all their obstacles and picking up new fans everywhere they go.
Release Year: 2021
Label: self-released
Category: EP
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Shaun Bensley
