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Euphoria Station

The Reverie Suite

Review by Gary Hill

This new album is the second from this artist. The group started as a duo, performing acoustic music. That sort of stripped back, grounded element remains at the core of the music here. The closest comparison to be made would be folk prog, but this works into other territory, too. The vocals are of the female variety, provided by Saskia Binder. This music gets into some intriguing journeys and wanders down some cool alleyways. Yet it remains tied to accessible hooks and earthy elements, too. It makes for an intriguing and effective set.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2019  Volume 6. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2019.

Track by Track Review
Prelude / She's Calling
There is a bit of a sound to this mellow opening that calls to mind the music of the old West in some ways. Then it shifts to a hard-edged prog movement from there. It has some definite crunch built into it. The instrumental works through various sections and gets back into the more melodic zones as it continues.
Reverie
Folk music modes begin this. The track carries on in that tradition before powering up to something that feels a bit Celtic in nature. The number eventually evolves, getting into more decidedly proggy zones as it carries forward. There is a piano led section that gives way to a symphonic movement.
On My Way
This is much more of a pure progressive rock piece. It comes in with a melodic movement that is a bit less hard-edged than what the track is destined to become. The track works outward from there, driving with style and power. There are some really soaring movements. It's dynamic and has a complex, yet compelling, arrangement. Around the six-minute mark there is even an excursion into old time western music. Things rock out from there in to a killer prog rock jam, though.
Heartbeat
Folk prog is on the menu here. This is a more mainstream and a melodic cut. While it is more accessible, it still has plenty of meat on its bones.
Bridge of Dreams
This is a more complex and powerful number in comparison to the previous one. It has some hard rocking stuff and killer modes. The mellower, folky sections serve as a nice contrast to the fury of those more powered up movements. 
Queen of Hearts
Folk prog is very much the order of business on this instrumental tune. It's very classy, and has some intriguing twists and turns.
Paradise Road
This is a powerhouse melodic prog rocker. It has some good driving, crunchy, rock at the core. Still, there are folk rock elements, symphonic ones and more here. There is a cool extended instrumental movement that serves as a piano showcase mid-track. As that section continues the guitar takes command. The soloing it delivers calls to mind The Allman Brothers in a lot of ways. In fact, there is a healthy helping of that sound throughout this tune.
Move On
There is still plenty of prog in the mix here, but overall this is a mainstream rocker. It works well. That said, I wouldn't consider this to be a standout.
Seasons
Mellow modes with some cool percussive elements bring this into being. The vocals come in over the time, lending a focus toward the folk side of things. The cut works out to more of a pure prog rocking jam as it continues. There is a real powerhouse kind of jam that ensues and takes it through all kinds of shifts and changes. It has some seriously tasty instrumental works, particularly in terms of some of the guitar soloing. There are parts of this that make me think of Jethro Tull a bit.      
Reprise
Piano and vocals bring this into being. The cut evolves from there, landing more in the mainstream zone. There is a rather powerful instrumental section before it eventually returns to the song proper.
Remind Me
This instrumental has plenty of folk prog built into it. It's a dynamic number that has some intriguing twists and turns. It feels quite grounded. There are definite folk music elements on display at times.
Content
Melodic progressive rock informed by and built atop folk music is the idea of this piece. It has some passionate and soaring moments.
 
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