ALBUM REVIEW: Point Of No Return – Craneium
Sitting on the tip south-western tip of Finland lies the city of Turku, which was also the former capital of the country. It lies in a region that was originally called Soumi, which would later give its name to the country of Finland. Due to its location the city has been at the epicentre of many historical events through the years. It’s an inspiring city that has a host of medieval buildings and rich musical pedigree. Heavy-hitting psych rockers CRANEIUM emerged from the city’s depths with fuzz-drenched riffs and Nordic grit in 2016 with their debut album Explore The Void.
Over the years the band have worked relentlessly to hone their sound and played a plethora of shows throughout their homeland and Scandinavia. They’ve incorporated more progressive elements into their riffs alongside dreamy melodies and anthemic atmospheres. The band’s fourth album Point Of No Return is their most ambitious yet as it sees them venture further into the boreal realms of heavy psych, fringing on epic doom territory – without the swords and dragons though – to create a deeply absorbing and mind-expanding album.
The band’s dynamic take on stoner rock beautifully marries the riff-driven nostalgia of 1970s rock with the edgier psychedelia of the 1990s desert scene. In comparison to CRANEIUM’s earlier work, Point Of No Return is more diverse. Richly layered, experimented and expansive, the Turku natives have pushed their creativity throughout this album. Everything gracefully blends into one another compositionally and atmospherically. This unbroken stream of melody and riff is the band’s most cohesive record to date.
Point Of No Return follows on from the equally ethereal Unknown Heights. Running through Unknown Heights was a personal, introspective and spiritual theme that has been carried over into this album. With reflective lyrics being carried on melancholic yet soaring vocal melodies, Point Of No Return stirs up your emotions in ways you don’t expect. You can find peace of mind amongst the layers of fuzz and reverb, effortlessly floating through your consciousness as wave after wave of melody, harmony and riff washes over you. Alongside this, CRANEIUM incorporate subtle, hypnotic, proggy grooves that provide a gentle movement throughout each song. While you’re lost in the luscious atmospheres you can still feel the album moving forward underneath.
Point Of No Return is a strong heavy psych album in pretty much all areas. It demonstrates how hard CRANEIUM have been working to elevate themselves into the upper echelons of the global heavy psych scene. It has a different feel about it; they’re almost at the point of breaking through, that tension and desire to succeed is palpable throughout the album.
One Thousand Sighs opens the album strongly. A tumult of riffs is punctuated by euphoric vocal harmonies and soaring atmospheric passages that stir the soul. It also showcases CRANEIUM’s intent with this album: it sounds unlike anything that has come before it. Transitioning into The Sun, the album takes a melancholic turn before erupting into a fiery, fuzz-drenched 1970s-inspired rock riff. It conjures up imagery of hurtling through a cosmos of suns trying to escape the gravitational pull of each celestial body so the ship doesn’t crash. A Distant Shore follows a similar formula to One Thousand Sighs but is more psychedelic. As a result the song contains beautiful but mournful vocals as the protagonist seems to drift through space whilst hearing the voice of their loved ones from a distant void.
…Of Laughter And Cries epically opens up the second half of the album, taking the record in a more proggy direction. Swung grooves, shifting beats and subtle tempo changes create a hypnotic effect throughout the track and lyrically it seems to carry on from A Distant Shore. This allows emotions to remain high as you connect with the soulful, melancholic vocal melodies and their harmonies. Things Have Changed feels a lot darker and more imposing than the other tracks. Opening with a dark and doomy introduction and developing into an anthemic rock track, it adds a bit of punchiness to the second half of the album. The album closes with Search Eternal which consolidates the record perfectly. Maintaining the overarching melancholy, all the key parts of this album come together. Proggy grooves, riffs drenched in fuzz and triumphant vocals collide in one huge track.
Point Of No Return doesn’t break any new ground but it is a dynamic and strong album in every sense. While there is no explicit narrative, the album is an emotional and provocative journey through your mind. CRANEIUM are certainly at the point of a breakthrough and hopefully this album will help them achieve it.
Rating: 7/10
Point Of No Return will be released on February 23rd via The Sign Records.
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