Cyprus is an island situated in the Eastern Mediterranean that has through history been the subject of territorial disputes, the Turkish, British all the way back to the Romans and Greece's Alexander the Great have battled to possess this beautiful oasis that legend tells us was the birthplace of Aphrodite and Adonis. You would expect music made by a rock band coming from such an island to somehow reflect that countries juxtaposition of conflict and serenity within their grooves and Limassol's Arcadian Child do not disappoint on that score, the quartet of Panayiotis I.G (vocals/guitar), Stathis Hadjicharalambous (guitars), Andreas Kerveros (bass/backing vocals) and Christos Dimou (drums) do this not through lyrical content but by mixing into their easy on the ear psych tinted sonic output little touches of fuzzy stoner dirtiness framing their languid lysergic grooves with dark edges, edges that can be heard on the bands new album "Afterglow".
Arcadian Child cite one of their influences as 70's Greek psych/prog pioneers Aphrodite's Child and apart from the obvious similarity in name it is not hard to see why, although coming from a more modern stonerized psych place than that occupied by Vangelis and Co, Arcadian Child utilise a similar mixture of edgy rock bluster and well constructed songcraft, the band writing songs not only with old fashioned concepts like verses and choruses but songs that leave ample space for the four musicians to stretch out in, when and where those opportunities present themselves. From the phased opening chords of "She's On my Mind", with its catchy vocal melody, right through to the countrified lysergic lament "Used" "Afterglow" is an album that delights and dazzles in equal measure, sure there will be those who balk at it obvious crossover appeal, it's catchiness and its occasional leanings towards commerciality but those are all integral components of the whole and a major reason why "Afterglow" is such a fantastic listen.
Check it out ....
© 2017 Frazer jones
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