Review: Mt. Oriander - This is not the Way I wanted you to find out (EP)
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| Label: Count your Lucky Stars |
So... who's that Keith Latinen? Let's just call him the Godfather of Modern Emo. He is one of the two founders (the other one is his better half, if it COULD get any better?) of Count your Lucky Stars Records and also founder and lead singer of the legendary Emo-Band EMPIRE! EMPIRE (I WAS A LONELY STATE). 90s-enthusiasts definitely could argue, if their output was really that legendary, but one thing you can't deny was this bands' influence on the Genre in the late 2000s, the 2010s and up to this very day.
When EMPIRE! EMPIRE! disbanded in 2016 Latinen solely concentrated on his label activities... or... nah, it seemed more like he was taking a break from music altogether. And what should I say, but, I can fully relate to that. It feels like Keith's passion for his own music is tied to his passion for his Label. Cause after some more dry than fruitful years, he and his label started a full force comeback in 2020. And his own project, an Emo-supergroup called PARTING, was the leader of the pack! "Unmake me", released earlier this year, was a great record, full of nostalgia and thoughtful but oh so easy to relate to lyrics.
MT. ORIANDER is Keith's solo-project, but it's no Acoustic-Singer-Songwriter-stuff. Neither is it some experimental, freaky shit. Keith played every instrument himself and as you could guess, the result is nowhere near a surprise bag. As it's written on his Bandcamp-page "if you liked his previous bands, or his current-one, you will love this". Nothing more to add. This sounds and feels like a discreetly trimmed down version of PARTING. His voice is in the focus, in favour of the more rock-orientated direction of PARTING. It's a bit more introspective, reduced and softer. The lyrics are kind of vague at times, still they are touching and thought-provoking and have the ability to go under your skin, reaching the levels of "Unmake me". When it comes to this, Keith is in his own league at the moment. You will feel this EP from the beginning 'til the very end, if you love his voice and style of songwriting. Any criticism? One could argue, that these 5 tracks could also be PARTING-tracks, if fully instrumented... but, who am I to complain, when I can't get enough of this stuff?!
...every once in a while, there's this record that initiates a long winter to come and I get the feeling that this is one of those records. Crazy that the first words on it are "already winter"!
Rating: 8 out of 10
Mt. Oriander on Bandcamp
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