Quite fitting to their name, the Denver-based duo Astralingua makes music that exists somewhere in liminal space.
Composer Joseph Andrew Thompson and backing vocalist Anne Rose Thompson call their genre space-folk, which lies between classical, folk, and psychedelia. Building slowly around simple acoustic guitar and haunting vocal harmonies, Joseph blends radiant string ensembles, chamber instrumentation, and otherworldly soundscapes into diverse song forms, resulting in music that is arresting and unmistakably crafted. Their new album, Safe Passage, which was released in March 2019, is a statement on mortality, isolation, crossing over and moving between worlds. Each song on the record takes on the enduring quest for peaceful transit from a different perspective, and together, they present a stirring, inquisitive look at what it means to be alive — and to die.
The album ‘Safe Passage’ has soothing vocals and a soothing bass behind it. The songs all have a philosophical meaning behind each song and is such a beautiful album from start to finish. When you first listen to the songs, it is so hard to not get engrossed by the vocals and the lyrics, as it is so subtle but so breathtaking at the same time. The album starts with an upbeat feel to it and also has a sense of urgency to it. The lyrics throughout the album definitely have to be praised and also when you are chilling out, it has a sombre feel to it.
Speaking about the album they say,
“Steeped in Romantic inquisition, and birthed from two individuals familiar with the highs and lows of this ephemeral existence, Safe Passage is a personal and haunting exploration of the great challenges that exist as we move through this changing world and search for home.”
As they proclaim in the album’s final song, ‘The Troubled Road,’
“Oh what a struggle it has been/ But even the longest night must end.”
The first song, ‘Plunge’ lets the listener know the direction of the album, it has classical sounds and brings you to a tense situation creating Astralingua’s take on folk music with some indie rock.
Throughout ‘Safe Passage’, the album maintains the acoustics, but also instrumentally and vocally captivating in each of the songs. I feel as if ‘NSA’ has a more classical side to the album as it has a violin throughout the song and has soft vocals throughout. This album is defiantly one to listen too with the beautiful sounding instruments but also the soft vocals.
Astralingua are defiantly ones to watch!
Stream and download ‘Safe Passage’ from Astralingua’s Bandcamp page.
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