EROSION

It has been six years since the release of Daymoon's third album, 'Cruz Quebrada' (which I haven't heard), and we have to go back to 2013 for the release of their second album, 'Fabric of Space Divine' which I was very impressed with indeed. They are indicated as crossover prog on PA, but that is in its truest sense in that they cross over multiple genres but the one which they most relate to with this release is eclectic. This is the first album where it is much more of a band as opposed to multi-instrumentalist Fred Lessing, an inner core of musicians, and an outer cast of many as Fred has now created a different version of the band and it will be interesting to see how they progress. André Marques (keyboards, drums and percussion, tuned percussion, vocals, stringed and ethnic instruments) has been involved since the second album as part of the inner core, but the others have either had minor parts or are here for the first time. This includes new lead singer, Lavínia Roseiro, which is quite a switch as previously the band have had male vocalists. The line-up is completed by Thomas Olsson (electric guitar, keyboards), who is also executive producer for Isuldurs Bane, Luca Calabrese (trumpet ? also in Isuldurs Bane) and Paulo Chagas (tenor recorder, oboe, alt recorder, fujara, flute, sopranino and bass clarinets).

Lavinia is a stage and TV actress, and she uses these skills in ways which have more in common with Clive Nolan's theatrical works than "standard" prog, often taking the band into areas of art rock, while they switch and move in different manners so one never knows what is going to happen. With a trumpet being a main instrument, we get very different timbres and styles than one normally experiences within the genre, and when placed against a xylophone as on "The Forest Within Us" one is no longer in the world of prog (in one sense, but very much so in another), and one no longer understands the path we are on. Some paths are straight, others wind, and even others split in multiple different possibilities, but this one is fractured and is more like steppingstones than a continual journey and therefore the route is going to be a difficult one, but worth the effort all the same. We shift between jazz, artrock, Zappa-esque prog and so much more, never knowing what is coming in the next bar, let alone the next song.

This album is deep, yet at times lighthearted and playful, but the disparate nature of it is deliberate as it relates deeply to the lyrics, and together they combine to place the world we live in under a microscope. This is not an easy album to listen to, even though its component pieces may be more palatable individually, yet it need to be ingested as a whole as it is only then that its deep meaning and hidden beauty shine through.

This "Erosion" was released in February 2022 as the fourth full-length creation by a Portuguese project DAYMOON. Sadly under such a tough situation like the pandemic, I guess it was so difficult to go forward with their recording or production well, but I got very happy to listen to this album full of eclectic, diverse music essence and incredible massive passion, maybe due to Fred's multi-coloured life and experiences. Every track involves not so complicated but amazing developments here and there, that are attached and stabilized with various instruments, especially Lavinia's clean transparent voices and tricky, mysterious but supra-comfortable wind sections. The creation itself is not too heavy nor difficult to be accepted but is fascinatingly designated on composition.

The first "The Forest Without Us" is pretty suitable as the starter. Beautiful guitar plays, mystic recorder streams, are impressive and courageous. The latter phase sounds more of chaos like our concern for the future. They would play straightly on behalf of the audience. Ethnic flavour also heard via the following "Pardon The Turkey" is charming and tempting too. "The Forest Within Us" is one of my favourite songs in this album. Not sure what "Genomics for beginners" means but such a wondrous simplicity, sweet relieving flavour like lavender, grabs our heart strictly out. Luca's trumpet and André's percussion are also flexible and enchanting for us.

"The Pyre" is a bit deep and depressive especially in the former part, just like clearcut sound-oriented tensions like Rush or Ningen-Isu, but it's another good point they CANNOT be desperate nor hopeless. In "Fjoyd" we can much enjoy beautiful, delicate keyboard accesses into our inner brain. The last "Melas Chasma" sounds like another hopeful milestone. Quite sensitive and sincere texture relaxes the audience. Although we cannot see any clear hope currently under the situation, the brilliant time will come soon ... It makes sense that we can believe. Yes, regardless of challenging circumstances, we keep our hope and motivation to advance, by listening to such a fantastic album and drinking Portuguese wine. ;)

[Originally published at The Progressive Aspect]

Erosion is the third release in a triptych from Fred Lessing. Except it isn't. Or maybe it is? Honestly, I don't know if it were intended to be, but regardless of intentions, I believe Fred has created that triptych, as the three albums that make it up are all indebted to his first wife, Inês - albeit in different ways. Inês is the thread that runs through All Tomorrows, Cruz Quebrada, and now Erosion. While Erosion is ostensibly a far more global and political album than its predecessors, it remains also a very personal one at times. Indeed, it begins with a very tender and touching lyric,

"The thyme on your grave is long gone,

Eight journeys around our sun,

The world has grown darker, I'm glad you're not here

For all that you fought for will soon disappear."

And, honestly, I did a double take when I first heard this. If I didn't know it were Daymoon, I would think it were a different band. The Forest Without Us sounds very little like anything Daymoon have played before. At least, not for the first two or three minutes. The beautiful and tender instrumentation soon brings me back into more familiar territory. It's a brave choice of opening number, as it is such an understated and atmospheric song, ethereal and ephemeral ? flickering with life like the thirty-two thousand fireflies of the lyric. As the vocals end, the music takes a darker turn. The quiet and calm is lost amongst a wash of insistent noise of modern life. The Forest may be without us, but the woodwinds are definitely with us, and Paulo Chagas provides a discordant and disturbing squall that is perfectly accompanies and mirrors the chaos of the background sound effects.

Paulo provides many of my favourite moments throughout the album, eliciting a visceral response with his sometimes unconventional playing of a range of woodwind instruments, including recorders, clarinets, saxophones, oboe, and flute. Fred also plays a range of woodwinds, and unfortunately the credits for the album aren't always helpful in working out just what is being played (often simply stating "woodwinds" or "percussion" or "stringed instruments"). I'm sure more educated ears than mine could identify what is what, but I quite like not always knowing just what is being played at times, as it adds to the magic and mystery of the music. And so much of the music is magical and mysterious, throwing up surprises and curveballs.

As a prime example, the following Pardon the Turkey is a joyous cacophony of sounds and styles, cut up with sound bites and biting lyrics full of sarcasm and irony. The music jolts unpredictably between jaunty, light and airy passages, and heavy, dark and menacing. This is definitely more what I was expecting from Daymoon, and it goes without saying that I love it. I came to Daymoon because I loved the Project Creation of Hugo Flores, on which Fred Lessing (and also Paulo Chagas) played a part. If you read reviews of Project Creation, they are often critical of how it is all too much all at once. In fact it was the negative reviews that sold it to me and made me want to give it a listen, because all that was being criticised sounded quite wonderful to me. Pardon the Turkey sounds like members of Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, Henry Cow and Pink Floyd joined together to make a metal album. It is exquisitely over the top in every way.

The Forest Within Us is a near-instrumental comedown, with particular highlights from the kalimba (played by André Marques) and trumpet (from Luca Calabrese), sounding like jazz noir from the heart of Africa, although we are swiftly moved to the border of Asia and Europe via the Trans Aegean Express ? from the sounds of it, coming from a war torn East, and travelling with hope to the West. Unfortunately, these refugees are likely to encounter the endemic ugliness expressed already in Pardon the Turkey, and systemic ugliness yet to be expressed in The Pyre. While these migrants may struggle to find a home, the fusion of sounds and instruments from around the world is once again wonderfully arranged. Nothing sounds out of place, even when it occurs somewhere that one would not expect it. This is where Fred Lessing excels, as throughout Daymoon's recordings, he has consistently been able to bring together what might seem disparate elements, and make them sound like natural companions. The different sounds might crash together, but they do not clash.

Sometimes, however, a clash is not simply inevitable, but necessary. The Pyre reminds us that erosion is not necessarily just an environmental issue. While the Earth is being eroded, so is humanity. Our rights and status as people are being eroded globally, whether that be the UK sleepwalking into an authoritarian state, or the US overturning Roe vs Wade, or any other example you care to think of. If we don't rise up when he have a chance, we might lose that chance for good. Followed up by Joyeous Oh Joyeous!, Daymoon do not exactly offer a happy ending. A subverted Symphony no. 9 in D minor is less an ode to joy, than a dissociative fugue state. But if that's disturbing, it's still nowhere as scary as the following Back Home, the lyric of which one can certainly still see reflected in a certain proportion of the population of the UK.

Overall, this is a magnificent addition to the Daymoon canon, but for all its similarities, it has some rather striking differences. While it still retains the eclectic nature of the previous albums, it is in a more subtle and restrained manner. In fact, a lot of Erosion comes across as quite restrained and understated, compared to All Tomorrows and Cruz Quebrada. This sense is furthered by the vocals of Lavinia Roseiro, who has a more conventional style than the idiosyncrasies of Fred's. A lot of the rawness and edginess of Daymoon has been lost here, but perhaps that is appropriate, just as continued erosion can polish a surface. Initally, I found that meant that I enjoyed Erosion less than its predecessors, but continued listening has seen it erode my defences, and I now find it not only my favourite Daymoon release, but one of my favourite albums of 2022.