Agalloch
The White EP

THE REVIEW

Two years after the excellent "Ashes Against the Grain," Agalloch returns with this EP where, in a single and delightful half hour, they skillfully condense and reshape their sound. Despite strictly adhering to the classic styles of the band (namely, markedly neofolk with doom elements), they always manage to surprise us deep in our souls.

This music is a true homage to nature and its spontaneous and simple wonders: pristine snowy and solitary landscapes, languid and melancholic autumn woods covered with a mantle of pastel faded leaves, crystalline and placid waters of a sea touched by warm sun rays. These are the picturesque scenes that are likely to appear in the mind of a listener willing to open the eye of imagination during the brief listening of this small and precious CD. All thanks to the acoustic arpeggios and well-placed synth incorporations, both endowed with a powerful expressive force.

You will surrender to the contemplation of dreamy guitar chords, both classical and electric, that you cannot help but appreciate ("The Isle of Summer"), you will be enveloped by a dizzying whirl of graceful choirs coming from some unknown and frozen island ("Hollow Stone"), or you might enjoy a hot chocolate in the company of a graceful and intimate folk like "Birch White" while outside your cabin snow is falling like there's no tomorrow, perhaps you will admire the particular voice of the singer who intones an arcane, gentle, and solemn melody in "Pantheist", or perhaps you will even shed a few innocent tears while listening to "Summerisle Reprise", where you will hear piano notes that are as simple as they are heart-wrenching and moving.