AUTUMN'S GREY SOLACE: Within The Depths Of A Darkened Forest

Autumn's Grey Solace

Within The Depths Of A Darkened Forest

© 2002 Autumn's Grey Solace (783707591728)

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Incredible angelic vocals and lush, heavenly guitar orchestrations driven by emotive bass guitar and atmospheric drums for ethereal bliss.

tracks

1 Resonant Dusk
2 Forgotten, Fossilized, Archaic
3 Shadows of Moonlit Nights
4 Cast to the Seas in Storms
5 Eve
6 Reflections of Falling Leaves
7 Lost
8 Within the Depths of a Darkened Forest

notes

Angelic vocals and heavenly guitar orchestrations are combined with earthy acoustic guitars and emotive bass and drums. The result is a lush soundscape that conveys imagery and feeling.

The sound of Autumn's Grey Solace is strongly defined by Erin Welton's distinctly appealing voice and Scott Ferrell's otherworldly guitar playing. Erin's vocal style has a soft quality that is pleasing to the ear and fits well within the musical context. Her lyric writing ability is both abstract and amazing. Some songs have deep metaphorical meaning, others are just beautifully poetic. The guitar is often hypnotic, infusing a powerful element of escapism into the mix. The bass guitar is sometimes melodic, other times it plays driving bass lines. In some compositions the bass arpeggiates broken minor chords, constructing a sturdy foundation for the rest of the instruments. Tastefully reverbed acoustic drums play intricate yet subtle rhythm accompaniment, keeping the arrangements quite interesting.


WITHIN THE DEPTHS OF A DARKENED FOREST (Song descriptions)

1. RESONANT DUSK

Ambient electric guitar feedback and crystalline guitar embellishments envelope a whimsical vocal trailed by a canyon-slapped echo.

2. FORGOTTEN, FOSSILIZED, ARCHAIC

Driving bass and drums with richly distorted slide guitar and soaring angelic vocals.

3. SHADOWS OF MOONLIT NIGHTS

Strummed 12-string acoustic guitars caress the ears while synchronized guitar echoes galavant. A poem set to music, the vocals conjure imagery.

4. CAST TO THE SEAS IN STORMS

A pulsating ambience of deeply reverbed drums immersed in diffuse guitar melodies and drones. The chorus introduces an explosion of lush, dripping wet guitar chords and expressive vocals.

5. EVE

Sparkling 12 and 6-string acoustic plucked arpeggios and melodies under airy, celestial vocals.

6. REFLECTIONS OF FALLING LEAVES

Intense vocals supported by melodic bass guitar chords, exotic drums, and mind bending guitars.

7. LOST

A spectrum of dense, eerie vocal harmonies and flowing guitar rhythms.

8. WITHIN THE DEPTHS OF A DARKENED FOREST

A blanket of morose tones over a throbbing bass line, the end transforms into an eruption of ethereal bliss.

reviews

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  • Serene, pretty...
    author: Lolly

    What a wonderful album. The sound reminds me of Innocence Mission and Cocteau Twins: pretty voices mixed with soothing sounds...

  • Mmmm... Pretty...
    author: Liberti L.

    AGS reminds me of the Cranberries for some reason. This is a really pretty CD. All of the tracks seem to blend into one another. You'll like this if you're into slow ethereal atomospheric music. Very nice! ^_^*

  • Good and shows promise
    author: ENO

    While reading up on the few things I could find about this band I'd heard many different descriptions. Are they shoegazer, progressive rock, gothic metal, or what? I actually first saw them on a metal site but I was drawn to them for something I heard in their sound that nobody else had seemed to. Listening to a lot of Japanese music lately I heard similarities. Most especially, those similarities presented themselves within the vocalist. As with so many female Japanese vocalists, their truly emphasize their femininity in a very soothing manner. The same was true here. It makes for a nice, easy listen. They certainly have room for improvement, however, but as their styles mature and solidify, we're in for a treat.

  • A Fabulous Debut!
    author: Thor Maillet

    I've recently lamented the loss of bands that explored a certain sound that I considered to be one of the more promising ones in the last decade, that of dream-pop. I'm a sucker for airy female vocals, delayed, arpeggiating guitar work, melodic bass and spare percussion — the sounds made known in the early to mid 1990's by bands like Siddal and Love Spirals Downwards. Out of nowhere though this stuff seemed to disappear entirely but left an indelible mark on me, and I've been waiting for someone to pick up the slack left by the Bedazzled and Projekt labels. Enter Florida's Autumn's Grey Solace. When I first read about them, I thought it was too good to be true: comparisons to Siddal, LSD, and Cocteau Twins! Breathy female voices! Minor chord guitars! No, it just couldn't be what it was made out to be. Then I received their debut self-released CD, Within the Depths of a Darkened Forest... The remarkable opening track, "Resonant Dusk," makes it very clear that this duo, consisting of songwriter/guitarist Scott Ferrell and keyboardist/vocalist Erin Welton, while they have not forgotten what was happening a few years ago are not content to just imitate. The title of the song is very appropriate. The guitars chime and resonate a beautiful melody, glissing at just the right moments while Erin's angelic-yet-strong voice lilts and shimmers over the song, conjuring up images of the approaching nighttime. A similarly sublime mood is brought forth on "Cast to the Seas in Storms." Major and minor chord guitar interplay (my favorite!) and an extremely smooth, engaging vocal line float over the ethereal backdrop created by the keyboards, wide-open bass tones and drum patterns. It's hazy out there, but it's not bleak. Though a few of the tracks have much to be desired melodically — "Forgotten, Fossilized, Archaic" and "Reflections of Falling Leaves," in particular, sound winded and/or too emulative — the most perfect ones are towards the end of the disc. With its arpeggiating acoustic pickings, layered vocalisms and a near-pop tune — though still wrapped in gauze — "Lost" is a flat-out dreamy delight. The closing title track has a dissonant guitar note that scrapes against the gossamer sheen of the gorgeous verse, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The chorus is monumental, really, reaching heights of beauty that I thought were long gone. And "Eve" is just simply a stunner, definitely forecasting the future of dream-pop, which according to this track looks real nice. In all, Autumn's Grey Solace exhibit a professionalism and strength not often seen in debut self-releases — you'd swear they've recorded a few albums before this one. The songs, for the most part, are fully realized and brilliantly executed, and Erin's voice is, simply put, breathtaking and not in any way generic. A fabulous debut.

  • Gorgeous
    author: Jon Douglas

    This is gorgeous .... it's such a delight to listen to. The music is superb , such intricate guitar work which is then perfectly complemented by the delicate , soft tones of Erin Welton.

  • Soundscapes of solemn Beauty
    author: Matty L

    Vocals that seem to touch the right place at the right time, holding your mood hostage with an arsenal of melancholy mystery. Look at the front cover and let it never escape you memory. It's a soundtrack that makes you realize why we listen music.

  • Drifting lonely music
    author: Craig

    This album sounds like the first (greatest) Love Spirals Downwards album, "Idylls." Sunsoaked, dreamkissed, feminine and spirtual. An lonely undertone, a hint of darkness to play against the airy-fairy vocals. For fans of Siddal, and the Sundays.

  • Extremely atmospheric
    author: Jose Banuelos/Aerosol Records

    AGS is one of a few bands/projects that I have come across that sound great, have an excellent CD and are unsigned. Consisting of only two members: Scott Ferrell (which makes all the music) and Erin Welton (lyrics and voice). From the opening track I was very impressed, with warm, soft sounds mainly from the great guitar work of Scott, he uses various layers of guitars to achieve this superb dreamy sound. The bass and drums are left a little bit in the background but I noticed a great effect: The low mix of the drums with the added reverb gives a great sense of space to the music, and although the bass is also a little on the low side of the mix, the soft melodies can clearly be heard. On to the voice of Erin Welton, which is incredible. Her singing style reminds me of a few New Age artists, but this album is nowhere near that genre, it is actually hard to place AGS within a certain category. Extremely atmospheric and sometimes even hypnotic, it is very relaxing and soothing music. Spacepop is the closest I can get to categorize AGS' music, although it also sounds folksy and again the voice adds a little New Age touch. Actually, the voice and singing of Erin Welton is the first that I've heard resembling that of Harriet Wheeler (from the Sundays). This whole CD is an excellent piece of work, AGS has a great sound and I would advise anyone who likes dreampop/spacepop music to get this CD.

  • Stunning debut! That guitar, that voice!
    author: Paul V.S.

    Combining the beauty of the Cocteau Twins and the splendor of Dead Can Dance, Florida’s Autumn’s Grey Solace has released a stunning debut. Scott Ferrell (guitars/instruments, music) and Erin Welton (voice/vocals, lyrics) combine their talents to produce a work that simply transports you to another world. His fluid guitar lines and her crystal clear voice work together in perfect harmony. Their music would be very much at home on the Projekt, Bedazzled (no longer with us), or even the venerable 4AD labels. Looking forward to much more from AGS! Thanks for a great start!

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