It’s day three of doing the music thing full-time and to say that I’m completely overwhelmed and realizing that even without a day job, there are just not enough hours in the day would be an understatement. I need a break from staring at my email so let’s spend some time with Echo In’s new EP ‘The Bar’!
Kicking this quick six-song release off is the calming mood of “Renew”. Much like the title suggests, this gave me a feeling of freeness and acted like a little refresh. Although a bit calmer than the metalcore I had been blaring all morning, this opening track instantly brought me into Echo In’s beautiful world and I already knew that leaving was going to be a hard thing to do. The vocals felt a bit hidden behind the beautiful instrumentation which caught me a bit off guard as the lyric lady I am but I warmed up to this perfectly imperfect balance quickly. There’s something about that, although not as in your face as I prefer, seemed to fit the atmospheric calming vibe of Echo In’s music perfectly.
As the album continues into “Nothing”, the mood stays the same but has a bit more of a somber tone to it. Although still fairly upbeat and perfectly indie-pop-based, there’s just a sense of tenderness in this track that I didn’t quite get from “Renew”. Although I didn’t have the lyric sheets to read along to, I caught some words and phrases in this track that hit me so perfectly which made this a standout track on this all-too-quick EP. I was so lost in the beauty and feel of this track that I was a bit bummed as the album moved onto “At The Airport” but, like the previous tracks, it didn’t take long for me to warm up to this track at all. The vocals kick this track off with a bit more of a whisper quality to them that seems to be a very Echo In thing. Although this track really didn’t hit me lyrically as “Nothing” did, I really loved all of the intricate layers of instrumentation that made this track shine and feel completely different than the previous songs while being distinctively that of Echo In.
“Duplicate” has a super infectious and ear-wormy beat to it. Again, it relates so perfectly to the previous songs on this album while bringing a fresh energy that I had not felt from this band yet. There’s a driving force in this track. That mixed with the repetitive nature of the instrumentation made this already fairly quick track (just under three minutes long) seem to fly by even faster but not before Echo In treated me to the beautiful rises and falls of sound and power that they do so perfectly. That infectiousness seems to radiate out of this track and into “Sidewalk People” while slowing things down just a bit and bringing back that almost ambiance felt in “At The Airport”. I can not stress how well Echo In weaves certain elements throughout their music while constantly evolving and changing their overall sound and mood. “Sidewalk People” is a perfect example of that and, although a bit more slow-moving than I tend to go for, I absolutely understood this track’s place on the album and loved it so much because of that.
Just as the album started, “Zwølf” ends this release with an undeniable sense of beauty, freeness, and calmness. This final track really does a great job of bringing the EP full circle. Even if you didn’t catch all of the commonalities that I did throughout the album, this last song absolutely reminds you of all of the beautiful stops on the journey that is ‘The Bar’.
My Favorite Track(s): “Nothing”
For Fans Of: Calm And Freeing Sounds; Understated Energy
Mosh-ability: 1 out of 10
What My Cats Thought Of It: Artie slept on the back of the couch; Autumn slept upstairs
How Badly I Want To See This Performed Live: 6 out of 10
My Overall Rating: 6.6 out of 10
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