Be prepared to be taken on a sonic journey through the sounds of Solar Parachute and his latest work Among The Clouds.
The London-based musician otherwise known as Gaet Allard blurs the lines between genres such as alt-rock, space rock, groove metal, and pop.
The EP bounces back and forth from a variety of sounds whether it is crunching and grooving guitar riffs mixed with wailing vocals to delicate synthesizer notes in the opening track What Should I Do. The overall production of the track mixes the instrumentation beautifully with every snare fill and pounding cymbal resonating amongst the distorted guitar notes.
The drumming is an exceptional detailing throughout Among The Clouds with Allard being a graduate of Paris Jazz Conservatory and Musicians Institute of L.A. Never Forget drives forward with dynamic galloping drums with more notes than I can care to keep up with. Until the pre-chorus, it feels like Allard could hit drum fills for a full five minutes without stopping.
What Should I Do and Never Forget feature similar guitar tones and high-energy rock that only ceases to let up in small sections whereas the vast majority is an overload on the senses as Allard ferociously pushes his playability to the limit.
I Wish I Could Sleep mashes genres from early 80s rock to 2000s space rock with sounds that could be found on an early 30 Seconds To Mars album. The guitar drum time signatures see the vocals more stretched out over them as if there are signs the instrumentation is struggling with the speed of the overall song. However, the bridge is an ethereal wonder of higher-pitched vocals and delicate guitars.
This is only temporary as the drum fills are an insane thirty seconds and dominate the grooving guitars, it’s a drum solo that Neil Peart would be proud of. There is a calmer return as the song fades out with more sonically impressive synthetics that reminisce the mid-80s rock like Dire Straits.
Brother Mirror directs itself as a groovier and more heavy guitar-focused track as the rhythms chug along in the verse. The chorus of the track is the most melodic side of Solar Parachute, forget insane drum fills here, we’re reaching the penultimate finish to the record and Allard is smooth sailing with all instrumentation involved. Once more the synths take a stand-out and unique direction with prog-rock playing.
The closing track and the title track of the EP encapsulate everything enjoyable and said about the album from jazz drum patterns, intricate synth playing, smooth and soaring vocals, and high-tempo guitar rhythms. The tones of the guitars in this track are a lot cleaner and more drowned out by the synths, the drumming takes center-fold alongside the vocals as if to say listen to me instead of this space-themed piece.
The bridge does give the guitars a chance with more high energy, but the themes of space and traveling through the colour-changing sky are visually brought forth by the shredding guitars and rhythms that make you feel as though you’re on a journey.
In truth, the whole EP is a journey and Among The Clouds is a beautiful display of sound and instrumentation being pushed to its very best. It’s an Ep that sparks interest from a music-lover perspective, and intellectual perspective, and a storytelling conceptual perspective. It is an album that tackles a genre that isn’t handled by most, space rock, and it does it justice.