VIDRADA

This is currently my favorite album of 2025. I received a copy directly from Volodymyr Agafonkin, who is the guitarist, vocalist and composer of the band one month before the official release. It was a download including the lyrics and the scores.

The album is strongly influenced by the current war, even if not explicitly. The music has a kind of singer-songwriter feeling, due probably to the excellent acoustic guitar, but the instrumental parts, sustained by a string quartet, give it the symphonic flavor.

But it's not only symphonic; there are heavy guitars, keyboards and surprisingly the growl of Andriy Tkachenko in the final crescendo of Thruths, the penultimate track of the album.

It starts melancholic. Child is perfect in setting the whole album mood, and I also suggest to watch the video. It's both on Bandcamp and on Youtube. The lyrycs are in Ukrainian, but to give you an idea a translated sentence says "Deep inside We're children In search of forgotten dreams".

I'm not expert in that matter, but I suspect that the singing style takes something from the tradition: the timbric of Agafonkin is simlar to the "Pink Floyd" Andriy Khlyvnyuk. Getting used to it may take a bit, but it's very rewarding. The whole band is excellent in term of musical skills, and a mention goes to the production that's equally excellent.

Now, while the war is just somewhere in the background on "Child", it's more present on the second track "On Distance". Stlii not explicitly, it says "We search for a refuge Staring through the snow". Not a mention to the causes of the war, the goods and the bads, just the description of what people feels. Read the lyrics on Bandcamp. It enhances the experience.

Hurricane is one of my favorites. The intro is instrumantal by acoustic guitar and strings while the chord sequence reminded me in some ways to the Canadian Harmonium. Thinking while I'm writing, if you love Harmonium and Serge Fiori, Obiymy Doschu is for you.

Refuge is a love song, with an interesting signature. The chorus is the kind that can resound in your head after the listen.

"After the war" is obviously a song of hope. Again, the lyrics don't speak explicitly of the current war. It can be applied to any other war, with the exception of Gaza that can't be considered properly a war as it's nothing but a genocide.

"Time" is more intimistic. I quote "Every drop will change something in the soul Where the rains never cease So that one day, hearing dreams We too may learn from Spring" The piano bridge is remarkable. The strings on the coda have summoned the Beatles in my mind, with the difference that here the strings are arranged and played by the band.

The already mentioned "Thruths" is the longest and also the most complex track of the whole album. It has a quiet start. Piano and acoustic guitar then strings with some classical influences before the vocals enter. The chord sequence is complex as well, but still very melodic. Finally, bass and drums join in while the piano continues the arpeggio. It's a crescendo of instruments. An electric guitar gives the start to a crescendo which in the end transforms the song. While remaining melodic, after a couple of stop, slowing it down, in the last part the guitar introduces a metal crescendo which ends with the growl. To me this is musically the best track.

Don't Give Up is an optimistic closer. I suggest watching the video (again both on Bandcamp and on Youtube). The melody is captivating and the backing vocals of Karina Sokolovska harmonize very well with Agafonkin. Also this song has a crescendo, but ends with the strings quartet on a melancholic theme, like the end titles of a movie.

As I have written in the beginning, to me this is the album of the year. In the past I have written about the previous works of the band. I loved both Elehia and Son, but this is really superior to both. I'm not ashamed of giving it 5 stars.

Try it on Bandcamp, buy it if you like it and please let me know. Have I been too enthusiastic?

Obiymy Doschu has to be among the best-kept secrets of modern progressive rock - the band led by Volodymyr Agafonkin comes from Kyiv and has been active for some good two decades as of 2025. Nevertheless, this year sees the release of the band's third studio album, some good seven years in the making and following-up on the highly-rated 'Son' from 2017, which definitely indicates that the group's steady release rate comes alongside a strive for excellence in a way, with each new album coming after a meticulous process of refining and elaborating its sound until reaching that immersive art-rock condition that seems to define the band's music. And the aptly titled 'Vidrada' (Ukrainian for refuge, solace) is an album with a mission, a cause, embodying the voice of hopefulness amidst the war-torn reality of the group members' homeland. It is a powerful, emotionally-loaded and eclectic work that binds together the band's creative writing as well as their strong progressive rock influences, which come in the form of complex melodies and harmonic instrumentation.

The moody, cinematic prog of opening track 'Children' works excellently on many levels as the grief and solace of this song are communicated by the music in a heartfelt way that resembles what Marillion and Steven Wilson have been doing recently, for example. 'At Distance' impresses with its wavy, almost oceanic synth leads and beautiful acoustic guitars - a complex and emotional work with great vocal work all throughout; the touch of folksiness is quite enjoyable here as well. Then the sweeping violins of 'Hurricane' only seem to serve as a prelude to the pop-sided verses and gorgeous melodies of one of the best songs off the album, closing off the song with a wash of intense guitar sounds. So far the mood is sentimental, embracive and really cinematic - Obiymy Doschu have crafted an inspired collection of melodic art rock with a very eclectic nature that sits really well within the landscape of progressive rock of the current decade. The post-rock soundscapes of 'After the War' support the nostalgic tone of this shorter song that offers another powerful chorus, while 'Time' seems to be most suspenseful piece on the album with its melodramatic use of light strings and orchestral notes. 'Truths' is a more labyrinthian mini-suite informed by the moody and sprawling art-rock inclinations of this entire album, and the closing track 'Don't Give Up' is as intense as it is accessible. The influence of Bruce Soord and Steve Kitch from The Pineapple Thief, who mixed, mastered and produced this fantastic record, can be felt all over, from the warm, lush notes of the sound overall to the clarity of every instrument and vocal harmony. Just a brilliant and warm crossover rock album that is equally inspired by progressive rock, folk music, orchestral music and chamber pop, and a simply flawless release from Obiymy Doschu.