Temples & Pyramids By Eshniner Forest ( Album Review )

Temples and Pyramids is Eshniner Forest's 8th Full Length Album & it was released on October 31st 2013. The album contains 18 songs that were all composed during the previous year. All the songs were later recorded from January to September of 2013. 

Temples and Pyramids is an homage to the music and song writing styles of the late 60's. The main influence of Temples and Pyramids, is Brian Wilson's 2004 released of SMILE. Eshniner Forest wanted to write songs that were just as entertaining stylistically & musically to the best of Eshniner Forest's ability. Eshniner Forest also wanted the songs to be full of rich fun sounds and textures unlike Eshniner Forest's previous album Spectacle Sunrise. Eshniner Forest wanted the difference between Spectacle Sunrise and Temples and Pyramids to be a gigantic leap. So much so that if an outsider heard both albums & did not know the artist, the person would think the two albums were written by 2 different bands. 

Eshniner Forest wrote, recorded and produced this album on his own. As a song writer, Eshniner Forest tries not repeat himself & is always trying to come up with some kind of musical gimmick to make each song stand out on its own & I think Eshniner accomplishes this on this album.

The albums over all theme is the paranormal. With references to... Aliens, UFO's, Mutants, Hyperspace Travel, Space Travel, Science Fiction, Life After Death, Pre-History, Ancient History & overall just a love for the human experience. 

Album Influences:  Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, Syd Barrett, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, John Lennon & Frank Zappa

Album Length: 57.1 Minutes 

Track One.

Radiant Flux: This song was written as an introduction track, but was not recorded until September of 2013 & was the last song recorded for the album. Eshniner Forest said...  "I wanted the introduction song to have a strong beat but at the same time was soft and melodic. I wanted it to echo the harmonies of the Beach Boys & be somewhat similar to Our Preyer the introduction track of SMILE by Brian WIlson. 

Track Two.

In Our Wake: This song is a little pop song & I think really defines the direction of the entire album. Lyrically the song is about moving forward in life & not dwelling in the past in a way that is not self destructive. Musically it reminds you of the later years of The Beatles. It reminds you of something that could have maybe fit on the White Album. 

Track Three.

Heaven of Hyperspace: This song was the first song to be recorded & is a song about longing for a future that none of us current humans will ever experience. It has a chorus that is quite rock'n and heavy, the verses are introspective and haunting. 

Track Four.

Pretty Thing - Phase 1: This was the demo version & was not intended to be released, but the final version came out to be quite longer and sounding slightly different, so it was decided to be put on the album. Pretty things has an anthem kind of thing going on at the end... much like Hey Jude by The Beatles or Atlantis ( Song ) By Donovan Leitch. 

Track Five.

We Are Mutants: This is a electronic jam song with multiple lead instruments playing a similar lead melody. 

Track Six.

Watch Dr. Who: Lyrically this song is slightly about watching Dr. Who the television show but in a very subdued creative manner. "Watch Dr. Who" is said in the song, but the other lyric's could be interpreted to be about something completely different. It has a catchy guitar riff & the musical main focus is carried on by the vibe of the guitar chords. The instrumentation is not as full as some of the other songs with a lot of lyrics. Watch Dr. Who has a folky feeling to it & is a nice counter point & shows a variation of style from previous songs on the album. 

Track Seven.

Cheap Thrills: This song is more so a musical intermission & It has the lyrics of "Cheap Thrills" repeated as a chorus. It has a jaunty feeling that is played on a piano & is in a waltz time signature. The verse is instrumentally played by organs and fuzzy guitars. 

Track Eight.

Ridge of Time: This song is one of the heavier rock numbers on the album & last just under 5 min's in length. Lyrically the song is about facing death from the perspective of someone that can not die & give warning to the unwanted facets of life. 

Track Nine. 

Only Love - Phase One: This song was inspired by The Ink Spots in the way that the lyrics are sung. "Only Love" is sung and harmonized in a high pitch range. Musically it has a dirging bass & electric piano a long with a wavering lead synthesizer. It is mostly a musical track with interesting transitions. 

Track Ten.

Golden Land: Is a little pop rock song that is just fun to play and rock out to. The lyrics don't really mean anything & is mostly just a gobbledegook, but not in a bad way. The lead guitar stands out and the riff is interesting & like I said before... it Rocks! 

Track Eleven.

The Blockhead: This song is lyrically about seeing unidentified flying objects in the sky & the difference between believers and nonbelievers in the phenomena. It is also a piano based song and has a descending verse. At one moment it has a little punk rock then goes back to the main verse and then proceeds to a haunting outro. 

Track Twelve.

Only Love - Phase 2: This song is only similar chord wise very briefly to it's predecessor "Only Love - Phase One" other wise it sounds completely different & is a little pop rock gem. It is a catchy song of hope as the chorus says " You just gotta believe, only love will set us free! "... You are going to be at least tapping your foot along to this song. 

Track Thirteen. 

Mister Bluster: This song was inspired by Mean Mister Mustard By The Beatles. It is about a stubborn old man that is stuck in his ways and has some oddball opinions & for the most part is just silly lyrically. It has an interesting solo section with multiple instruments. The Instrumental bit in the middle of song was inspired be The Scarecrow By Pink Floyd. 

Track Fourteen.

Pretty Thing - Phase Two: This song is somewhat similar to Phase One other then the chorus is played out more allowing more instruments to play out, such as a lead guitar as well as a progressional build up of the anthem like chorus that is in a similar spirit of Hey Jude By The Beatles or Atlantis ( Song ) By Donovan Leitch. 

Track Fifteen.

Temples and Pyramids: This is the album title track & was originally not going to be the album title track. In Our Wake was originally going to be the title of the album because It was written with lyrics. The lyrics for Temples and Pyramids took about 5 months to complete because musically it was dramatically different from anything else on the album & Eshniner Forest wanted it to be a unique song. This song is the icing on the cake of the entire album... it has a haunting chorus that has similar ties to songs like "Cabinessence" By The Beach Boys. It is full of little catchy changes and has a warm fuzziness to it that harkens back to the more creative late 60's psychedelic rock music. 

Track Sixteen.

Far Flung Uranium Breath: This song is an instrumental & has a guitar as the lead instrument & has two different parts each played with a slightly different attack each time around. It builds up slowly. Eshniner Forest had heard a song called Black Napkins By Frank Zappa and wanted to come up with something similar, but in the end it is completely different from Black Napkins. 

Track Seventeen. 

Who We Are: This song is a little pop song with a slight gospel feel to it. The lead melody is quite strong & lyrically it is about finding an identity... human or not. 

Track Eighteen. 

So you Wait: This song is another Brian Wilson musical homage. It has a bit of a dark jazzy waltz feeling to it. Lyrically the song is about taking a deep breath and being able to finally relax and not worry about the future. It starts off with one chord predigestion and ends in a completely different place. It is the last song on the album & the end of a long musical journey. 

Darlean Boograttgh - Dec, 12th 2014 The Unlucky Mutant Magizine