TRACK LIST:
1. A Friend for Bad Times 5:41
2. Hopes and Dreams 4:40
3. What I Have Left 6:33
4. Life Explorer 6:34
5. The Universe Responds 6:59
6. Too Late 4:37
7. Thrill Ride 5:38
8. Rain to Light up the Sun 5:34
9. Through the Storm... 7:13
LINE UP :
Cyril Delvallez - guitars, keyboards, programming, bass, vocals
Claire Sergue - vocals
with:
David Hazak - bass
Alex Soubry - guitars
Cedric Argoff - guitars
Laurent Leyder - bass
Prolusion.
French band Pledge of Healing revolves around the talents of songwriter and musician Cyril Delvallez and vocalist Claire Sergue. The two met back in 2021, and quickly decided to form a creative relationship. Pledge of Healing was chosen as the band name, and at the start of 2023 they released their debut album "One Step Closer".
Analysis.
In the various subsections of the progressive rock universe, this album resides rather safely in the atmospheric corner of it somewhere. This is accessible music that revolves around establishing and developing moods and atmospheres, and the instruments role is to emphasize that aspect of the proceedings throughout. As such, this is an album that in the days of old probably would have been described as art rock rather than progressive rock I suspect.
Floating and flowing sequences is the heart and soul of this production, with slow gradual developments alternating with a careful ebb and flow being the structures of choice. Orchestral textures are used in most of the songs, and is something of a defining feature of the album even if not quite an ever present element. These are combined with delicate guitar and piano details alongside the vocals of Sergue to establish an initial setting, and then this one will gradually build to a more majestic conclusion or alternate with passages that are more layered and with more depth, with rhythms and guitar riffs and a general increase in intensity catering for the formation of these more majestic and vibrant passages. Sometimes with a darker undercurrent primarily provided by the electric guitar, on other occasions with a more energetic and dramatic end point. The final conclusion of the songs tends to be more on the delicate side of matters again, often taking the song full circle from the similar careful opening parts.
The manner in which the different sequences develop obviously is a bit different from one song to the next, with electronic rhythms and effects having roles to play in some songs, or vocalist Sergue opting for a vocal style that reflects back more to folk music than rock, and both rhythms and guitar may glide in and out of the different passages to create more variation and emphasize the feeling of movement and development. Some of the guitar dominated parts may get more intense than others, on rare occasions approaching a metal type of intensity, while the vocals may be restricted only to a few phases or having more of a non-verbal role in other compositions. Some songs may have a stronger focus on darker tones, timbres and impulses too, with the concluding 'Through the Storm...' a good example of that, featuring both gentle and borderline ambient as well as distinctly more powerful and vibrant sections as well as a fairly long but never uninteresting build-up to boot.
Conclusion.
"One Step Closer" comes across as a good example of an album that just about exclusively focus on and revolve around establishing compelling moods and atmospheres. Flowing orchestral textures, delicate piano and guitar details and more powerful guitar solo runs and rich supporting guitar riffs all combine in different manners here in a good way, with a strong vocalist catering for the lead and backing vocal duties in a manner that suits these landscapes very well indeed. A solid album to enjoy for those who tend to enjoy the more atmospheric laden varieties of progressive rock and art rock.
Progmessor: April 2023
The Rating Room
