Shrine of Reflection: Demo (2021)

(78:42; Shrine of Reflection)

Track list:
1. Tale of the Thaw 5:23
2. Sunset Mourns 5:57
3. Inner Landscapes 5:44
4. The Pulse, the Storm & the Secret Bay 6:30
5. Strands of the Past 9:57
6. Lyndia Bar 6:42
7. In the Predecessors Hall 7:17
8. Into This Night 3:47
9. Little Bird 3:55
10. The Throne 5:12
11. Passage 5:11
12. Song of Traps Shut 6:05
13. It's Time 7:02

Line-up:
Mikolaj Batyra - vocals, instruments
Maciej Mironski - vocals, instruments


Polish duo Shrine of Reflection was formed in 2020, and have been working with material for their debut album for a bit over a year at this point. The band have decided to go the old-fashioned way and released a physical demo CD of their material, which have been submitted to various parties, presumably to raise awareness and interest of the band among people in the various aspects of what used to be the music business. Hence this album isn't, at least to my understanding, commercially available at this point.

This partnership has a clear foundation in folk music, with the acoustic guitar defining the core foundations of the compositions all along and with the core melodies also pointing towards a distinct folk music inspiration. Which does give this album a distinctly Earthen core mood and atmosphere, and one that invokes associations to older traditions - and to various fantasy style computer games and the soundtracks for those.

The vocals, or at least the vocalist with the deepest voice here, adds a more distinct dark and dramatic delivery of the kind that I associate a bit more with post-punk bands, and to some degree towards an artist like Rome as well, although I should hasten to say that the vocalist in this case isn't quite at the level of Jerome Reuter.

Keyboards have an important function in these landscapes as well, often delivering meaty, cold and dramatic backdrops of the kind that conjures associations to castles seen through thunder and lightning out in the woods of Romania someplace. Cue the word Gothic.

Besides the Gothic folk music with a bit of a post-punk sheen at times, the band does showcase that their scope is a tad broader than just this too. The composition  'Song of Traps Shut' is the case in point here, with chaotic noise rock paired off with the kind of dark rockabilly-tinged music that a band such as The Cramps explored so very well back in the day.

There are many fine moods and interesting atmospheres the band manages to conjure on this production, but to my ears it's also a production that needs a bit of polish if it should have a chance of standing out and making an impression beyond a mere niche segment. The drums are a bit one-dimensional, to the point that gives me associations towards a drum machine. One of the vocalists here isn't on the same level as the other, with a weaker singing voice and a distinct accent that will make the vocals from this half of the partnership one that will be more divisive. The mix and production in general is just a tad on the rough side, and the balancing/mastering isn't quite where it should be for a proper album experience. This, obviously, in my personal opinion, and written by someone whose main expertise is to listen to music and try to describe it in words: I'm not a musician nor someone with a technical music knowledge myself, just a mere listener.

While I do find this album to be aptly named as "Demo", I do hear a lot of promise in the material presented on this CD. Gothic folk rock is perhaps the best manner in which to summarize the style explored here as far as I'm concerned, with a slight and probably accidental post-punk tinge to some of the songs. And those with an interest in music described in this manner will have to hope that this album, especially if given a bit of a polish, will be made available to the public at some point.

Olav M. Björnsen, December 2021

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/shrineofreflection/