Daniel Romano continues his vow to be one of the most prolific and divisive artists coming from Canada. In the span of 10 or so years, Romano has released (and taken down, in the case of Nerveless, Human Touch, etc.) around 20 albums, dabbling in straightforward garage rock with his band The Outfit, psych rock, country-folk, punk (Attack in Black, Ancient Shapes), and now hardcore with his new band Pig Pen—fronted by celebrity chef Matty Matheson. He’s a guy that could drop a hip hop album tomorrow, and based on his track record, I’d be like ‘yeah, that makes sense.’
Now, Romano is back with another new project, a fully sacred acoustic group he calls BRIAR. In the vein of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young or even the bare folk of Simon & Garfunkel, BRIAR is made up of Romano and a few members of The Outfit, featuring one Fliss Horrocks on harmonium and voice. The songs are all soft, with the vocal structures and instrumentation apparently being influenced by the Egyptian vowels. “These are sacred vocal tones, each corresponding to a divine principle (Unity, Oneness, Intuition, Vision, Expression, Truth, Love, Compassion, Will, Creativity, et al.)”
I’m not sure about all that, but tracks like “As The Morning Burns” and “Blood and Sugar” are some of the most gorgeous and stripped-down folk I’ve heard in quite some time. I knew Romano dabbled in lighter folk and analog recording, but he and BRIAR really went all in on this one. The tracks have a feathery quality and feel like they’re part of some scared play yet to be written. I will admit it took me a bit to really lock in with Romano’s new wispy vocal style, but after a few songs in, it really works. The album feels like floating, and you can’t ignore those vocals harmonies.
