Sorni Nai

Kauan is one of those bands that every album that comes out, I think it’s their best one and they will never achieve anything better. They are also one of those bands that are both unpredictable and unclassifiable. What kind of music is this? You know what, I have no idea anymore. I do know that it’s amazing and inspiring music. “Post Rock” does not even come close to defining what these guys are doing. If I had to find the next closest thing, I would have to say some of the more “atmospheric” rock bands like Anathema’s newer stuff, or maybe some progressive rock, but this has much more of an inspiration from nature than they do, and I really don’t think of these tracks as “rock songs” – they are more of a soundscape or simply an experience. People who enjoy atmospheric folk/metal type bands such as Agalloch and Fen, will probably enjoy this too. Kauan has always had a lot of folk influences - but it’s not really as “metal” as those bands. Let me put it this way: when I put this on, I really just want to go to Russia and go skiing like they're doing on the cover.

They’ve got everything in this album. Gorgeous harmonization with both male and female vocalists; sweeping, majestic instrumentals; delicate keyboard melodies and some viola sneaking in; and even heavy sections with harsh vocals. They have completely dropped the harsh vocals before, which I thought was fine at the time, but I welcome their return.

My favorite track may be “Kit” - the melodies, especially at the beginning, are just mind-bending, but maybe it’s the most memorable because it’s near the beginning. The more times I listen, the more I discover little sections in songs that I didn’t remember, such as in “Nila,” “At” and “Khot.” Most songs are 7 or 8 minutes, and with so many different movements within each song, they are nearly impossible to remember the entire thing. I think that makes for the best kind of album, because every time you listen, it’s almost like listening to it the first time. The songs also flow perfectly into one another so it’s hard to tell where they begin and end - and they never get boring or dull. Not only do the instrumentation and the vocals change, the mood changes quite suddenly too, it’s inspirational one second, to foreboding the next, then perhaps to mysterious or somber – but it somehow all ties in together perfectly. I don’t know how they do it, but this is perhaps one of the most unexpectedly perfect albums I’ve ever bought, and I can’t wait for more.