Ancient Channels and Steady Sun Reviewed
Ancient Channels – Year Of The Rats
There are good times, and there are bad times. There is beauty, and there is ugliness. And, above it all, when you look back, there seem to have been good times and really awful days, and you’ve had to find ways to manoeuvre through them both.
Sure, life offers one or the other in ample supply. But it very rarely mixes the two, or if it does, the blend is so subtle that your brain is unlikely to pick up on it. Find me a man or woman who is both a little happy and sort of sad at the same time, and I’ll tell you that they’re lying.
No, that sort of balance is something that, nowadays, can only be expressed through an artistic medium. And the only way to perceive this balance is by working to gather the skills to understand it. Ancient Channels is a band consistently delivering this.
“Year of the Rats” is another pure example of the band’s mission to bring chaotic rocking sounds and gorgeous, lush-sounding vocals to tracks, a way to push the listener to the Heavens and to drag them back down again, the proverbial rollercoaster of emotions that ends leaving you safe and sound on solid ground.
Steady Sun – Rosie
There’s a certain sound built around expressive electric guitars, confident singing, and a live drum set that millions still swear by. This kind of sound, for the most part, was made at least half a century ago by people with long locks, facial hair and the monetary power to go sailing down Lake Geneva in their own boats while capturing inspiration for their mantra-like music.
And while it’s no wonder that artists like Steady Sun would be eager to recapture some of that magic for which, as previously mentioned, there is a clear audience, the conditions have changed. No, it’s not just that modern gear doesn’t offer the same “warmth” that audiophiles keep raving about. More importantly, there’s less optimism in the air.
That’s why “Rosie,” a song written just a few years back, at the start of a global pandemic, is a song that pulls in two directions. On the one hand, this sounds like the kind of chilled-out, prog-ready sound that makes people want to hum themselves into a relaxed dozing-off session. But on the other hand, this is also music about learning to face hard times and managing to take the bitterness out of that whole brew.
