For some, the two most relevant songs on this album will probably be ‘Her Majesty’s Airship Corps’ and ‘Clockwork Love’.  ‘Her Majesty’s’ is a catchy, borderline fictional propaganda number that is reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan that almost makes me want to give up my runaround life (emphasis on almost).  ‘Clockwork Love’, is a steampunk Frankenstein story about the invention of Dr. Kraven and his never-ending search for his other half. I remember begging Logan Sullivan to tell me what happened next when it was just words on paper. He refuses to answer me still, even when the song has been recorded in all its steamy glory. One day, sir. One day...

 

Even with only two steampunk songs on this 13 song album, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of appeal to the retrofuturist. The album constantly mixes classic Celtic-influenced folk with the pop and rock music of decades gone by. One of the best examples of this is in ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley’, a rendition of the classic Robert Dwyer Joyce ballad. While none of Joyce’s words have changed, this version sounds closer to something that could have been on Eric Clapton album while still keeping plenty of Celtic influence. ‘Omega’, a song written and sung by Larry Morris, carries a similar vibe instrumentally. While Morris’ vocals don’t seem to carry as well as Sullivan’s or Arthur Hinds’, the song is beautiful philosophical contemplation of life, the universe, and everything.

 

I guess it’s no surprise that with all this genre mixing that my two favorite songs are complete opposites of each other. The first is ‘Shepherdess of Dreams’, a more traditionally sounding Celtic lullaby sung by Sullivan. The song feels like a natural companion to ‘Urania Sings’ from Emerald Rose’s 2004 album Songs for the Night Sky. Instead of singing about what keeps us up at night, Sullivan sings about what happens when we are able to let ourselves rest at night. The song is gentle, gorgeous, and calming. Perfect for reaching the end of the day. The second of my favorite songs is ‘In The Mixdown’, a bluesy love song sung by Hinds. Probably why I love it so much is that the story of the song is told through singing and music recording metaphors. As someone who’s learning the ins and outs of recording as of press time, I find it to be a fascinating, yet appropriate, juxtaposition.

 

The album ends with the Middle Eastern influenced instrumental track ‘The Peat That Smokes The Barley’ and an updated live version of fan favorite ‘Freya Shakti’. The album at this point is already very solid, but to have it end with two very energetic numbers takes it out on a very high note. Overall, Verdant is a lively, high energy album from Emerald Rose that captures all that influences them, and then lets them crossbreed, grow, and bloom into something that is uniquely theirs.

 

Liesel Hindmann is a contributor to the Steampunk Chronicle. She is the Apprentice of Internal Machinations and Operations for The Extraordinary Contraptions and considers herself a lover of media from multiple dimensions. You can follow her on Twitter as well as her blog: The Diary of a Dimension Hopper.

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