Edensong – Our Road to Dust

New York based progressive rock band Edensong have a third album with a release date of early May 2025. It’s been 9 years since their last album ‘Years in the Garden of Years’. This new one goes by the title of “Our Road to Dust” as depicted in the cover artwork by Nate Dorr and Ben Wigler. The ancient looking map that it features could well be part of the Game of Thrones world.

The influences in their music are both old and new, resulting in a varied collection of tunes. The inclusion of flutes in some tracks draws an obvious comparison to the likes of Jethro Tull and Camel. Other unusual instruments used include banjo, violin, Portuguese guitar and mellotron. Some of these are played by guest musicians and more on that later.

To kick things off there is a short instrumental acoustic track called ‘of Ascents’. This jumps into ‘The Illusion of Permanence’ which is heavier, complex, lively, and reminds me in places of Dream Theater. There are some great lines in the lyrics and as it’s almost all clean singing, they’re easy to pick out. I particularly like; “How long can we chase our tail before the game gets old”.

It appears to get heavier still with the crunching chords that herald in ‘These Old Wounds’. This is deceptive though as the track settles down to a much softer melody. The diverse nature of the song writing is already becoming abundantly apparent.

The inclusion of some guests in ‘Black Crow’ adds to the depth of the material. Shelby Logan Warne adds keyboards and sequencing to the mix and there are backing vocals from Josh Wigler, Emily Fox, Alana Rosen. In another twist in the diversity on this album, this track verges on folk rock.

Two band members are credited with vocals, but I can’t tell whether it’s James Byron Schoen or TD “BenBen” Towers at any point. The former also plays electric/acoustic guitars, Portuguese guitar, six string banjo, and keyboards. The latter plays bass guitar.

Next comes ‘Hall of Statues’ which is an unusual insight into the blood, sweat and tears that go into making an album.  It features former keyboardist Stefan Paolini on piano and is one of my favourite tracks.

After those reflective few minutes, the style switches to a faster paced bouncy rhythm. The feel of the song is lighter than its title of ‘Book of Complaints’ might suggest. For some reason Coheed and Cambria came to mind, the vocals maybe. Anyway, it’s a short and sharp track that will have your foot tapping.

There’s another short instrumental interlude entitled ‘of Ascents (reprise)’. Here the flutes come into full play courtesy of Barry Seroff. Rather than invoking memories of Jethro Tull it reminds me of The Clangers.

The flute parts in ‘Wykkr Basct’ are definitely reminiscent of Tull and for a shortish number there are a lot of changes. The multiple switches in tempo and style are ably handled by drummer/percussionist Nick DiGregorio.  I have no idea what the title of this song means. Google translate suggested wicker basket but not as an actual translation. The violin parts from Chris Baum, add a slightly Middle Eastern feel to the track. At one point it reminds me of Ne Obliviscaris, not that this band are anything like the Australians!

Last but not least, and in fact the longest, is the title track ‘Our Road to Dust ‘. This finale is laid back with occasional animated bursts. The ambience is enhanced by the addition of violin, again from Chris Baum, mellotron from Shelby Logan Warne, and backing vocals from Robby Schwartz. Towards the end of the song, the tempo and intensity build to a stirring and strong finish.

James Schoen offers a summary of that last song and the album; “It is the thread that binds us to our past. It’s a song about getting older, losing loved ones, and the death of a dream. But also, about brotherhood, taking stock of what really matters, and choosing – perhaps misguidedly – to keep traveling that dusty road. Oh, and there are plenty of odd meters and polyrhythms and other proggy nonsense along the way…”.

This is 40+ minutes well spent, gems like this don’t appear too often, and you need to seek them out. This band has been around for over 20 years and there have been multiple band members come and go. So, with just 3 albums and 1 EP during that time, I’m not expecting anything else from them anytime soon. This latest album will have to do for now, and that’s just fine by me.

Track-List:

1. of Ascents
2. The Illusion of Permanence
3. These Old Wounds
4. Black Crow
5. Hall of Statues
6. Book of Complaints
7. of Ascents (reprise)
8. Wykkr Basct
9. Our Road to Dust