OFFICIAL: https://skyorchid.net/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/skyorchidband
Written
by Larry Robertson, posted by blog admin
Formed
during June 2015, the two members of Sky Orchid, actually brothers, already
logged 8 years of jamming together under their belts before that. Trimming the fat from prior incarnations and
attempts at this project, we are left with a lean, mean duo that knows their
way around a set of songs. The debut Oculus shows a stunning early grasp on
craft and soft/loud dynamics for such a young act and it’s obvious that was
honed through years of playing with one another. Passion and emotion are crammed into every
corner of this release and it’s definitely one for music aficionados to soak up
for the long-term.
Gabriel
Traknyak handles guitars, vocals and keyboards while his brother Daniel takes
care of the drums and additional percussion used. They make use of several different
songwriting forms across the record and manage each individual one to great
effect. Opener “The River” beings with
dubbed beats, distant piano and trembling vocals that crests with riveting real
drumming, electric guitar and searing vocal power. This set-up yields great results on the
slightly more rock n’ roll-y “In the Fire (Part 1),” the brilliant and gorgeous
“Lex,” the trippy piano/guitar shakedown heard in “Yesterday”
and penultimate closer “Fortify.” The group
truly shines in these auras of blackness where driving, buried beats and
trickling melody guitars give Gabriel’s lead vocals plenty of room to work and
eventually reach critical points of catharsis.
They
dissemble any sense of formula by having a track like “Sneakers” kick-off like
the aforementioned songs but jettison the mellow, melodic drizzle for full-on
guitar rock, pounding backbeats and expressive singing that take the music down
a more hard rock avenue that’s made for maximum aural impact. “I’ll Stop the World (Part 2)” furthers this
notion thanks to its dive-bombing tempos set by Daniel’s drums and it maintains
a careful blend of slower, grittier chugs with fluttering higher speed rock
attacks shrouded in an 80s mist.
“Wildfire” could almost past for some roots-y folk, what with its
lengthy first section gloriously embellishing the acoustic guitar and Gabriel’s
stern vocal pipes. It shatters into a
million pieces of space-y guitar rock as it climbs towards the finale but the
first half is the star of the show without question here. Then they abandon the more surreal, mystical
shades of their sound for some fun loving, upbeat groove and swagger on the
back-to-back pairing of “Breathe Easy” and “Take It All.” So many different songwriting styles could
come off as cluttered or unfocused without care, but these songs maintain
poise, point and purpose throughout.
Oculus will surely
latch onto listeners looking for an experimental take on modern guitar rock
that doesn’t stick to one genre or feel the need to be constantly loud. The beauty is truly within the details of the
group’s sound on this recording. Thanks
to airtight production, the whole things sounds polished and professional with
just enough dirt underneath its nail to really give you a good kick in the gut;
all around great work by this pair of musical siblings.
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