11/22/2024
First Review is out. 85/100. English translation below:
In mid-June of this year (2024), (the then) An Autumn For Crippled Children sent out a message via Facebook: “ You know what? After fifteen years (what???) and ten albums (what???) it’s time for a change. We’re not the same people we were fifteen years ago. The name did exactly what it was supposed to do: draw attention and pay respect to a great band. The new name will be An Autumn . A new album is seventy percent finished. No huge change in sound, just better 😉 . ”
Did the trio perhaps have a prophetic gift when they titled their previous album ( Closure ) from 2023? Or was this a secretly hidden message of what was to come? Whatever it is: there is nothing wrong with your previous name no longer feeling like a second skin and you are ready for something different due to development and the passing of the years. It shows maturity and development not to settle for the situation you are in and then adopt a new name that better reflects your current identity. Now the Frisian trio tells us that it will only remain a name change and the music will not change, but the first single released under the new name ( The Kind of Grief That Never Leaves You ) sounds a bit clearer and fresher and thus suggests something slightly different. Has the band really only refined and polished the sound on the new Ethereal , or does the name change go hand in hand with a shift in musical boundaries?
Also on Ethereal, the ever-present and clearly recognizable combination of dreamy shoegaze and post-black results in evocative guitars, layers of unorthodox, full keyboard lines, intriguing drum parts and hard screamo vocals. This creates an evocative, dreamy and expansive sound. The songs sound compelling and constructive, while the lyrics are imbued with the necessary sadness and mental headaches. The eight compositions on the album, all with a length varying between just over three and just under five minutes, are different from each other and each contain a clear character of their own. The often heard complaint from the past that the songs showed too little identity among themselves and that an album by An Autumn For Crippled Children sometimes came across as one long track, is therefore a thing of the past.
And there is more progression to be heard on the album. In addition to the usual raw and dogged vocals, you now also regularly encounter mumbling, spoken words ( The Kind of Grief That Never Leaves You , Last Night, Just Empty, The Flow of The River ). These not only add an extra layer, but also more depth. And could it be that the compositions have been approached with a more open approach this time and that the band has not been averse to allowing the somewhat stranger sides of the subgenre? The emphasis on a somewhat heavier sound seems less important. On the other hand, there is room for a melodic line, with which a number of catchy moments are created on the album. In songs such as The Kind of Grief That Never Leaves You, Like Death and The Flow of The River there is a little more room for the keyboard, a little more room for accessibility, a little more room for clarity. I cannot deny that this new appearance suits the band very well. In addition, An Autumn has this time – for the first time in their history – released the lyrics. This also provides just that little bit more content. But hey, that's coming from someone who appreciates when lyrics make you think and a band doesn't get stuck in bland wording.
On Ethereal, An Autumn (you're used to the new name by now, right?) has brought even more balance to their familiar sound. You can actually speak of a refinement here; the new name does not entail a completely different musical interpretation. However, the ex*****on is more refined and the applied nuances ensure that everything seems to fall completely into place. Following the title of the album, Ethereal sounds delicate, heavenly and light. " No huge change in sound, just better. " the band itself said about it beforehand. Those few applied differences in accent make the music of An Autumn even more lavish, dreamy and balanced than it already was. Just better, you said? I can only wholeheartedly agree with An Autumn .
Score:
85/100
Half juni van dit jaar (2024) slingerde (het toenmalige) An Autumn For Crippled Children een bericht via Facebook de wereld in: “Weet je wat? Na vijftien jaar (wat???) en tien albums (wat???) is het tijd voor verandering. We zijn niet meer dezelfde mensen als vijftien jaar geleden. De naam deed pr...
