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Ardours: Anatomy Of A Moment
Ardours - Anatomy Of A Moment Album Art

Ardours: Anatomy Of A Moment

Modern Electronica Rock
4.0/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 05.07.2022 | Released: 08.07.2022

Pre-pandemic, Ardours, featuring Tristania singer Mariangela Demurtas and multi-instrumentalist/producer Kris Laurent, made their debut in 2019 with Last Place On Earth. This was followed a year later with a covers EP, Eur4ria. Hailing from the Sardinian metal underground the duo returns with their second long-player, Anatomy Of A Moment. Again, the album also features songwriting contributions from Tristania drummer and lyricist Tarald Lie.

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Ardours

Mostly, Anatomy Of A Moment continues the musical formula the trio established early on. "Ardour" means, essentially, passion or avidity from someone or something. In Ardours case, this passion is for their musical influences which include melodic rock and metal, historic new wave from the Eighties, perhaps some inkling of industrial vibes, and symphonic and gothic atmospheres. In another sense, their "ardours" are turned into musical layers that create dense arrangements composed of all these elements. Largely, that density comes from riffage rhythm, synth embellishment, and rhythm section groove. Surprisingly, thanks to the production, Ms Demurtas' voice is not buried or overwhelmed in the compositions. Instead, her vocal style adds another layer which lifts the song melody and harmony.

Overall, I found this album to be more mature, perhaps more complex, but also rather accessible. I know that sounds oxymoronic. I'm still not a fan of Ardours use of quirky synths and samples; they sound somewhere between quirky to bubbly to last minute oddball additions. But that's just me. What I was pleased with was the increased guitar presence in the form of expanded solos. You'll find this within Identified, Secret Worlds, or Given, by example. Also, there seemed to be a more concerted effort to lift the rock groove to greater accessibility. The aforementioned songs are fine examples, but also Epitaph For A Spark or Anatomy Of A Moment, which in turn has a twist of industrial in the drum line. All said, while not quite my genre choice, Ardour's Anatomy Of A Moment displays a band growing and maturing in creativity and songwriting. If you enjoyed their debut album, you may like their sophomore effort even more.




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The Take Away

All said, while not quite my genre choice, Ardour's Anatomy Of A Moment displays a band growing and maturing in creativity and songwriting. If you enjoyed their debut album, you may like their sophomore effort even more.

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