Written: 15th June 2024
Following their single Ghosted in May – their first music for eight years – Nine Stones Close, led by guitarist Adrian Jones, prepare to release new album Diurnal in July. Their third album, One Eye On The Sunrise, dealt with nocturnal aspects of existence, so Diurnal turns it attention to thoughts, challenges and the introspective aspects of our waking moments. Following a burst of creativity that dates back the Spring of 2023, Diurnal is the first of two albums that this intriguing progressive rock band will release in 2024.
Birds, Insects and Kites – a piece composed by Brendan Eyre, Jones’ longtime friend and one of two keyboardists that feature on the album – begins with rising synths as the sun rises on the horizon and the listener begins the journey on which Nine Stone Close will take us. As the piece slowly crescendos and Jones - in his unique, unmistakable style - unleashes the first of many wonderful guitar solos on Diurnal, there is a celebratory feel to the opening track as the opportunity to begin again on a new day presents itself. The final thirty seconds sparkles with the glow of sunlight reflecting from dew drops or the joyous freedom of the first passing bird of the day. Second track The Veil (a short instrumental) begins with that bird’s distant call, the tolling of a muted bell and the chatter of the woodland. Ambient synths swirl across the speakers, gentle guitar embellishments play against increasingly foreboding strings and there is a feeling of change, not all for the better. Sounds of everyday life come and go: a digital watch, a footsteps and snippets of conversations.
Ghosted – the first track on the album to feature vocals - begins with the steady almost sleepy drumming of Lars Spijkervet until he is joined by the resplendently gorgeous, picked guitar of Jones. Evoking a sense of presence and absence, visibility and invisibility, Ghosted is marvellously constructed throughout. Vocalist Adrian ‘Aio’ O’Shaughnessy begins the lamenting narrative with a haunting question. Shadows everywhere / Did you see her? O’Shaughnessy is a gifted singer and is perfectly at home with the range of deliveries that being a member of Nine Stones Close demands. Here, his pained elongated pronunciation of each word adds to the feeling of uneasiness and deep-seated longing as he furthers his tale of those in society who feel unseen or unrecognised despite being a part of it. She's hiding in in plain sight / reaching hands toward the light. There is a glorious depth to the sonic tones of Ghosted which is partially crafted by the luscious bass soundscapes of Jones on bass and Joachim van Praagh on double bass. With deliberate, well-chosen steps, the duo – along with Spijkervet - move the track gently forward with a dichotomous feeling of dark sedation and purposeful intent which creates a slightly hypnotic sway to the overall tone.
The seven-and-a-half-minute Angel of Flies adds additional layers of tension from its first moments as Jones’s ominous picked guitar introduces the listener to a world of conflict and emotional desolation. After thirty-seconds, a bank of Eyre’s synths adds to the urgency and begin to build a sound that for a time, is reminiscent of Tangerine Dream or the Blade Runner Soundtrack. Growing in rhythmic intensity, the illusion is shattered after two minutes as Spijkervet and bassist Joachim van Praagh bring the listener back to Earth. Lyrically juxtaposing vivid imageries of fragility and damage with impenetrable resistance, Aio – whose vocals rise high and imposing like behemothic pillars - begins the narrative of a volatile and destructive relationship. I am shattered glass / I am broken bones / You are concrete walls / You are nothing at all / We are fissile / Your words like missiles / We are nothing at all / You are the fall. Nine Stones Close have long been a band that pay attention to detail and repeated listens to their albums are essential in order fully comprehend everything that is occurring. As Aio spits the words with a piercing incisiveness, the synths from the opening return ominously in the background as jagged glissandos from Jones add cutting savagery. The song’s final minute features a gorgeously understated guitar solo that shimmies between beauty and agony as if the protagonist cannot come to terms with the events that have passed.
Another short, ambient and thoughtful piano and synth-led instrumental – In Remembrance – separates Angel of Flies from the angst-filled timbres of the opening to sixth track Frustration-Sedation, a twelve-minute epic that delves deep into the themes of emotional turmoil, detachment and the search for peace. After ninety seconds of stomping percussion and a bile-ridden solo from Jones, a period of uncomfortable calm descends. Whispering wind, once filled with delight / Now carries echoes of a silent fight / In a cage of secrets untold / A heartache buried deep within our soul / A heavy heart / An empty role / Lost in a world beyond our control. A transition from delight to conflict suggests a loss of joy and the onset of internal struggle, a sense of entrapment and hidden pain, suggesting unresolved issues and emotional burdens. Nine Stones Close understand the importance of patience in longer songs and as the first half of the song steadily unfolds, the feeling of the need for release builds to an almost unmanageable level. Eventually, this arrives – both musically and lyrically - after five and half minutes with a lifting of the oppressive atmosphere and a shift to a more serene and peaceful state, with natural elements symbolising cleansing and renewal. Standing in the rain / On another summer's day / Watching my clouds roll away / Feeling a whispering wind / Wrapped in its embrace / Watching the sun kiss the grey / Sweet tranquillity / A sweet release .... a sweet release. This central section is somewhat redolent of the more bucolic elements of Pink Floyd’s music around the time of Atom Heart Mother or Meddle and lifts the spirits. Unfortunately for the protagonist, this atmosphere is not to last and the concluding minutes of the track see a return to the tortured aspects of the opening, indicating the cyclical nature of life and moods that both delight and haunt us. Golden Hour, the last short linking instrumental is hypnotic and transformative.
As you might expect from an album that began with a track about dawn and the expectations of each new day (Birds, Insects and Kites), Diurnal ends with Dusk, a poignant eleven-minute contemplative reflection on the passage of time, the inevitability of endings and a peaceful acceptance of life’s transient nature. Co-written by Jones and Christiaan Bruin, Dusk builds majestically over its first six minutes, Aio giving his most emotional performance as exquisite guitar and keyboard embellishments add to the palpable emotion. I stand and watch my shadow / Only darkness and dust / Burnished in gold / Outlined in rust / Waiting to be swallowed / By the dusk. Aio’s triumphant cry of We're all going home against the wondrous performance by the band is heartbreakingly moving and can be counted amongst the best moments of music on the entire album. However, the final four-minute coda signals a change in mood and lyricist Jones does not allow us to escape from the difficulties of life so easily. His bass guitar rumbles and prowls looking for another mind to prey upon and the album ends with uncertainty, the lyrics underscoring the finality of the transition from light to darkness, life to death or consciousness to oblivion. It's sundown / Sundown / Sundown / Blackout.
Diurnal – the band’s fifth full-length album – is another excellent body of work. Musically, the careful nuances, understated performances and brilliantly effective use of atmosphere remain. Producer Paul Van Zeeland has taken Nine Stones Close’s sound to new heights, even when compared with the wonderful work he did with 2016’s Leaves, which he also co-produced, mixed and mastered. Lyrically - although he remains very self-conscious about them - Adrian Jones continues to employ powerful meaning and interesting cadence arrangements, rather than an overwhelming number of words; he is one of the most unique lyricists of recent years. While Nine Stones Close may incorporate elements that would be familiar to fans of Pink Floyd, Marillion, Steve Hackett, Camel and even Led Zeppelin, the band never sound like any one of them for prolonged periods and with Diurnal, they cement their reputation for emotionally challenging but compelling and rewarding progressive and heavy rock.
Diurnal is released on 11th July 2024
Wonderful in depth review, thank you; it really shows that you listened deeply to the whole album.