With Fragile Wings We Reach the Sun

Album Review

Ecovillage is the electronica and shoegaze duo of Emil Holmström and Peter Wikström, who hail from Sweden. With Fragile Wings We Reach the Sun is their second full-length release, and it is simply fantastic from the start. Nothing comes close to sounding like filler. The album plays like a sound collage, with each song as good as the last, if not better. I haven’t been this excited about discovering a new band in a very long time.

“Save Me” opens the album with a pounding drumbeat, a strong, memorable bass line and euphoric vocals. It is one of the record’s many highlights. “Before We Knew the Cross” is probably the closest thing to a single. The vocals sit up front, unlike on most of the other songs, making every word easier to understand.

The nearly five minutes of slightly unsettling atmosphere on “Blissfully Yours” are completely epic, making it perhaps the album’s shining moment. The gorgeous dream pop of “Sunlight of Bygone Days” has a beautiful, ambient melody that is wonderfully relaxing. The guitar freak-out toward the end is a welcome surprise. I hope they explore that sound a little more on their next release.

With Fragile Wings We Reach the Sun is full of dreamy instrumentation, rich sounds and textures. What a glorious release. This has to be the best album I have heard in a very long time. Ecovillage has a new fan, and I cannot wait to hear what comes next from this Scandinavian duo.

~ Anthony P. Hanna