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Reviews

Autumn Tears — The Air below the Water
(Bandcamp Dark Symphonies 125, 2020, 2CD / DL)

Autumn Tears — The Glow of Desperation
(Bandcamp Dark Symphonies 130, 2021, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2021-11-10

The Air below the Water Cover artThe Glow of Desperation Cover art

In preparation for writing about these two albums, I looked back at my review of Autumn Tears’ 2019 album Colors Hidden within the Grey. My first reaction is that everything I said about that album is precisely applicable to the group’s two follow-up albums. The Air below the Water is a 2CD set featuring an hour and a half of music created by more than 40 musicians. The vocalists include many who have experience with opera as well as members of metal bands with symphonic leanings. In addition to the singers, there is essentially a full orchestra of strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion, along with a smattering of instruments from around the world: duduk, bansuri, komancheh, and so on. Piano forms the basis of many of the arrangements, though not all, and there is no guitar at all. As before, I would describe these songs as orchestral pop rather than Classical, as all of the compositions fit in with conventional pop form in spite of the elaborate arrangements. It’s all very lovely, though at this length it’s a bit overwhelming. A little over a year later, they released The Glow of Desperation, which features another hour of the same style. The personnel list is substantially shorter, though the cadre of vocalists has expanded. Another difference is the appearance of a drum kit, though I think it’s only on one track. All of the Autumn Tears albums I’ve heard are essentially interchangeable, so a newcomer can start anywhere and get a feeling for what the band is about. All of the individual tracks are beautifully crafted, though I’m at a loss to remember any of them individually after listening. Fans of lushly orchestrated accessible music should enjoy Autumn Tears, and any of their recent albums will serve as an introduction to their work.

Filed under: New releases, 2020 releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Autumn Tears

More info
http://autumntears.bandcamp.com

 

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