indignu – adeus

By RingMaster Review on November 8, 2022 • ( 0 )

In a time where light can seem a distant glimmer in the darkness of a world embroiled in turmoil and turbulence, moments of hope and understanding stand out. One such occasion comes in the shape of adeus, the new album from Portuguese post rock veterans indignu. It is a proposition which is as immersive for the senses as thoughts and emotions and an incitement of dark and light for the imagination to attach one’s own personal intimacy to.

Based in the artistically prominent town of Barcelos, indignu has for almost two decades and across four albums evoked connections with inner emotion and the world around us though their increasingly evolving instrumental explorations. adeus which comes four years after its predecessor, umbra, is no exception. Being written, created and recorded in time seeing a world gripped by pandemic, war, widespread turbulence and more besides, there is no surprise that dark shadows court the album’s heart and intimacy yet equally light fuels its contemplations and explorations.

A record inspired by loss and distance, it weaves soundscapes of melancholy and solemnity to shadow, almost echo one’s personal journey through these current times but it is also a release searching for and exposing the goodness and hope which has equally found its place, an album the band describes as being “rooted in the desire to walk through open doors and embrace whatever life holds in store for us.”

As times of lockdown gave us opportunity to self-reflect and reassess so adeus opens doors to similar rumination. From opener A Noturna, it is a release suggesting, reflecting and echoing a world, globally and personal, in tempest through its textures, tones and dynamics yet equally it casts realms for the imagination to weave its own interpretation and adventure whilst zeroing in on personal experience. The first track itself is a crepuscular entrance to the experience of adeus, its shimmering gloom and radiant melancholy alluring and portentous simultaneously, a truly evocative opening epitomising the nature and prowess of the release.

The following Devolução da essência do ser (translating as “returning to the essence of being,”) provides a fourteen minute plus soundscape of anxiety, uncertainty and eventual inspiriting realisation. From a mellow but darkly lit contemplation, the piece escalates in tension and intimation subsequently erupting in climatic realisation and euphoric like ebullience. A landscape of drama and provocative emotion, the track transfixed and fascinated as it sparked personal thought and emotion.

Similarly with rich and bold individuality, the likes of the brief but thoughtful Em qualquer entranha and Urge decifrar no céu through its myriad of textures and provocative trespasses, warm and ominous, beguiled whilst impacting on body and contemplation.

As with album closing Sempre que a partida vier, these are songs looking into the raw darkness of grief through to the rich blossom of hope, each with firm individuality, rich imagination and fertile enterprise. Yet the thick emotion of all is just as rich fuel to their and the album’s success; adeus a cathartic reassurance for heart and spirit as well as pleasure for ears.

adeus is out now through Dunk!records and A Thousand Arms Music; available @ https://www.athousandarms.com and https://dunkrecords.com