The Silent North - A Little Echo

The Silent North

A Little Echo
​self-released; 2022

By Matt Jensen
​

The Silent North is composed solely of multi-instrumentalist Paul Russell of Scotland. Russell recently released A Little Echo which is a four-song EP. A Little Echo was intended to vary between lo-fi sparsity and grandiose arrangements.

“Illuminate” is the first song and is an atmospheric song with trickling piano, shimmering warm guitar, a simple 4/4 beat and a ton of reverb. Russell mentions some of his influences like Cocteau Twins, Mogwai and Sigur Rós. I love all the acts and heard similar aesthetics. 

“Illuminate” felt very ambient to me even though there were drums. The dynamics are very subtle and the energy remains in the same place the entire time. It’s also repetitive and what’s added comes in the form of layers not transitions in melody. 

“Willow” continues to feel ambient but even more like a vignette. There's a pleasant and sleek guitar. It's a nice and warm melancholy piece that felt like it could have lasted a minute or several hours. 

“War Formations” is the most meaty and realized song. It starts with alarming synth horns. A Radiohead like beat drops and the mist in the songs settles to a dewy surface. The atmospheric groove lasts a bit and breaks down into an orchestral synth lead. Drums come back and the groove is a little bigger this time around.

“If you ever find a way back” is a soft song with filtered instruments like drums and piano. It’s another song I would clearly label as ambient. Drums come and go like the previous songs which control the dynamics.

The music reminded me more of an obscure band I discovered called Auburn Lull. Similar to The Silent North it’s repetitive and ambient with subtle nuances. If Russell wants to get into more complexity like a band like Mogwai and Sigur Rós he is going to have to expand on his ideas with more dynamics, more melodies and more ways to establish distinct sections but not necessarily more instrumentation. However, a live drummer would be a big plus as well.  

​This is a well done debut. I was definitely into the music and the mood. It felt like a solid first offering and perhaps this is just the beginning of more to come. I look forward to hearing more from this promising artist.

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