ALBUM REVIEW: Solace – REZN
Like echoes and whispering voices that travel on the mists across Lake Michigan, the ethereal Chicago natives REZN have an innate ability to combine gargantuan power and heaviness with a lysergic calm. Alongside hypnotic psychedelia, they are a band that aren’t afraid to experiment with new sounds and textures, bringing in unusual instruments such as a saxophone to enhance their mind-bending, kaleidoscopic music. However their fourth album, Solace, is a little more introverted. REZN eloquently balance atmospheric heaviness with cosmic weightlessness leaving you in this luscious zero-gravity space where the music washes over you and your thoughts run free.
One thing that is striking about Solace in comparison to REZN’s previous work is that there is an ethereal and majestic thoughtfulness that transcends the album, which is due to the band’s exploration of introspective and delicate emotions. With this in mind, the album takes on a meditative and hypnotic feel, with layers of glorious fuzz and luscious reverb creating a cavernous space for you to immerse yourself in whilst you stare contemplatively into space or out the window. The songs have been built up slowly, starting in a blank and empty space they erupt with colour as they fill the space – every nook and cranny is crammed to maximum density. This in turn creates an atmospheric masterpiece, with a multitude of multi-faceted and nuanced layers that reveal more with every listen through.
The gentle ebbing and flowing of Solace alongside the album’s overall vibe of serenity shows REZN once again blur the boundaries between crushing heaviness and psychedelic complexity. Rob McWilliams‘ vocals take on a celestial quality throughout the album, his angelic melodies float over the luscious psychedelic layers, transporting to you a place of pure and mystical tranquillity. What continually sets REZN apart from their contemporaries, and places them alongside the likes of bands such as ELDER, is their uncompromising willingness to experiment extensively on the fringes of doom, stoner and psych, with instruments such as the saxophone, acoustic guitar, piano and flute all being intricately woven into the rich, textural tapestry of the band’s music. With this in mind, REZN create music with a gripping and deep emotional resonance; Solace is the prime example of this.
The album is abundant with intriguing and dynamic melodies alongside effortless transitions between light and heavy and this is a testament to the innate and intrinsic nature of REZN’s songwriting. As the songs fade into one another, the wonderful connectivity keeps you completely immersed in the album and nothing could take you out of its trance. Compared to the band’s last album, 2020’s Chaotic Divine, everything feels significantly expanded. With colossal walls of noise, odd time signatures and captivating grooves, this is arguably some of REZN’s finest work.
The album opens up with the ethereal and dream-like Allured By Feverish Visions, as a central guitar melody sounds almost Middle Eastern in nature with a flute passage that weaves in and out. The song slowly builds to a triumphant Goliath riff that kickstarts the album with an immensely satisfying heaviness. Possession is one of the more mystical songs on the album; McWilliams‘ vocal melodies are processed to move from ear to ear, as if a guardian angel is talking on your shoulders. The beautifully soft and celestial nature of the song resonates with your soul on multiple levels. Reversal ups the ante, bringing in an ominously dark and gigantic riff that reminds you of early OPETH to some extent. This is where the vocal melodies and hulking rhythm section really drive the song forward as it moves between intense atmospheric passages and triumphant colossal riffing.
Stasis unleashes all of REZN’s doom side, and it feels like a groove-heavy exploration into the cosmos and beyond. Faded And Fleeting is one of the stand out songs on the album; seeing a PINK FLOYD-esque approach to slow building atmospheres and the sublime feature of a saxophone makes this song a truly magical listening experience. The album closes with Webbed Roots which brings back that Middle Eastern feel in the melody and thus provides the perfect bookend to the opener Allured By Feverish Visions. With soaring vocals, megalithic riffs and sensational psychedelic layers, the album finishes just as strongly as it started.
REZN have offered up a delicious feast of psychedelic, doom and stoner rock, with arguably a sprinkling of shoegaze. Complex, intriguing and beguiling, Solace is the perfect album to get completely consumed by. It is a beautifully hypnotic and surprisingly cathartic album that makes you fully invest your time into exploring its multitude of deep and fascinating layers. REZN have once again taken heavy psych to whole new level, and outshone themselves in the process.
Rating: 9/10
Solace is set for release on March 8th via self-release.
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