★★★☆
The strange new offering from Gone Is Gone tenderly twists itself onto your ears with an unusual slew of musical narratives.
But though this is a bizarre record, it’s far from unenjoyable. As each track is almost a saga in itself, most hitting the six-minute mark, you’ll forgive Echolocation its sometimes repetitive nature for the wonders which Gone Is Gone weave.
Vocalist Troy Sanders has a rich and wholesome sound, while the gentry of the guitar melodies falls nothing short of exceptional. However, a few of the songs on the album are altogether odd, and seemingly lose the plot a little. ‘Resurge’ falls off the wagon with a strange merry-go-round of lyrics – and yet, other tracks sharing similar qualities, like ‘Dublin’ and ‘Fast Awakening’, offer just enough variety to make it all worthwhile.
‘Ointment’ introduces a heaviness that isn’t present in the album’s opening passages, and so the remainder continues in the same sense, hooking you in with some catchy riffs before delivering a surprise at every turn.
In the vein of early Muse, Echolocation casts a spell that forces you to enjoy the stories the songs are telling. It’s a thoroughly imaginative and refreshing example of industrial rock.
Echolocationby Gone Is Goneis available now through Black Dune/Cooking Vinyl.
