Greatness typically slips up on you unexpectedly. Silent Skies proves that. Chances are you’ll go into this album anticipating a gossamer-thin tune cycle that quantities to little greater than well-produced Muzak. You’re thoughts shall be modified from that notion from the primary tune: There’s one thing else happening right here. Tom Englund and Vikram Shankar, a Swede and American-based pianist/composer respectively, get pleasure from a stage of artistic synergy that few different musical partnerships ever attain. They’re stalwart members of different acts, Englund with Evergrey, whereas Shankar performs an necessary function in initiatives resembling Redemption and Lux Terminus. Totally different sides of their character and ability emerge over the course of Dormant’s 13 songs.

It’s their third album underneath this identify and it exhibits progress over earlier releases Nectar (2022) and Satellites (2020). “Assemble” is the primary proof that Shankar and Englund have tied the promising strands of Silent Skies’ prior initiatives collectively in a vivid and good tapestry that exceeds what have come earlier than it. Their ambient atmospherics would possibly meander within the fingers of lesser abilities, however Silent Skies directs the association with alert urgency. Englund’s vocals hit extra like private testimony quite than mere singing.

That attribute elevates the second monitor “New Life”. Shankar solutions with mesmerizing piano work that stays neck and neck with Englund’s vocals vying for the listener’s focus. It’s one among Dormant’s full packages. It’s notable, as effectively, how the duo makes such an impression with out ever belaboring their songs. “Church buildings” has deep emotional resonance and has a man-in-the-mirror second of making an attempt to know love gone unsuitable. “Simply Above the Clouds” has a little bit of a non secular tone, talking about rising above the worry, noise and violence of this world.  It’s an digital pop symphony in miniature additional strengthened by an particularly uplifting Englund vocal. He traverses better emotional heights right here than elsewhere on the album; that is no small factor.

He ups the ante much more with “Reset”. The irresistible longing aglow within the coronary heart of this kind is its marquee ingredient, however Shankar buttresses that craving with a complementary musical association that fleshes out the complete vary of the tune’s need. It’s an involving and clever piece that, like the remainder of the album, doesn’t exhaust its prospects with a single hear. “The Actual Me” continues leaning on presumably autobiographical songwriting for its artistry. It’s by no means obscure, nevertheless. Englund’s writing faucets into common experiences whereas culling its reflections from the pages of his life. It’s a talented balancing act that reaches one other zenith with this reduce.

The singer/songwriter slant of this assortment could get misplaced within the gentle of its good sonic sheen. Songs resembling “Mild Up the Darkish”, nevertheless, are unmistakable examples from this songwriting faculty, notably of their reliance on a first-person standpoint. His gratitude for the tune’s topic and their transformative impact on his current and future virtually throbs with romance, however by no means in trite juvenile trend. It’s as refined and demanding, each lyrically and musically, as any tune included on Dormant.

The ultimate tune, sans bonus tracks, is “The Final on Earth”. Thunderous percussion isn’t omnipresent through the monitor, nevertheless it makes an infinite distinction when it makes its presence felt. Quasi-symphonic ambitions are obvious as soon as once more and juxtaposing it towards one other excellent lyric and vocal makes for a jaw-dropping finale. Silent Skies’ third album Dormant, by any definition, qualifies as a murals. 

Mindy McCall