Review: Eternal Return – Once Only (2021)

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Eternal Return have been introduced as a ‘new international progressive ensemble’, described as a super-group on the basis that the combined talents of the five-piece formed from various duos/trios that have previously recorded and toured together.

The group includes Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree, No-Man, O.R.k.) on bass along with his frequent collaborator, Estonian guitarist Robert Jürjendal (Toyah Wilcox, Fripp’s Crafty Guitar School), as well as Berlin-based Venezuelan Miguel Toro on drums (Royal Dust) and the duo of Miguel Noya, (Venezuelan keyboard pioneer, Phantom Limb Recordings) and Paul Godwin, (California-based composer/singer and NEWdOG founder) both also known for their work as Dogon, a widely celebrated ambient group.

With Steven Wilson appearing to move further away from his progressive rock leanings Colin Edwin may have been tempted to steer his next musical offering in a direction closer to what Porcupine Tree fans might be looking for to plug their increasing void of new Porcupine Tree music. However, he has clearly resisted such a temptation by associating himself with a more ambient project, the blueprint of which is referenced as Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden, David Sylvian and This Mortal Coil.

To gain a sense of what Eternal Return are offering, think deep electronic textures with dark melodies. Expect percussive beats and cymbal splashes rather than drum rolls with cymbal crashes, think droning e-bow affected guitar sounds rather than traditional chord strums or occasional guitar solos.

Opening track ‘Nomad’ features Paul Godwin’s lead vocals which are in turn accompanied by his own whispered backing vocal interjections giving an indication of some This Mortal Coil influence. Subsequent track ‘The Void’ gently builds an instrumental atmosphere before vocals surprisingly drop in halfway through the piece. The band’s style is not a standard verse chorus approach but suggests the tracks were developed with a shared imagery in mind.

‘The Triggering Town’ conjures The Blue Nile with it’s horn sounds ringing out over a lush jazzy relaxing vibe – Sunday morning listening with vocal phrasing reminiscent of a No-Man offering. Next up the instrumental ‘A Medium-Sized Village’ contains a slow glockenspiel ringing sound accompanied by percussive textures and an overlay of guitar sonic effects.

‘The Bottom of the Pond’ sees a lift in pace and volume – this could easily have been the albums climactic end piece. It is easy to imagine this track being the one chosen by the band to bring any future live sets to a successful and dramatic close.

Finally, ‘The Sky’ closes the album with their most traditional sounding song of the sextet, which includes string effects sweeping as if in the wind over acoustic guitar strumming to give this debut album a calming finish.

At less than 32:00 minutes of play time across the 6 tracks offered some may be left feeling hard done by in the value for money department and not quite fulfilled. However, it may be worth considering that the sort of quality offered here is comparable to what you get from a high-end, high cocoa content chocolate bar – knowing you can over indulge on something this rich, perhaps this appetising small-bite, well-crafted portion is just the right amount needed to fully appreciate the silkiness and complexity of the product, and will whet your appetite for the prospect for any subsequent refined segments which might be offered by Eternal Return in the future.

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