Orellana - 52 (Remastered) (2021)

At the end of 2017, Martyn Jackson, better known as Orellana, released what appears now as his second album, called 52. Now, the material has been remastered by James Trevascus at Bakewell Audio and it sounds so good I couldn't disregard it (as I usually do with remasters here), especially that I hadn't heard Orellana's music before.

Jackson admits to admire artists such as MONO, Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai, and everyone can recognize those inspirations from the very beginning and its MONO-like slow but massive, dark and dangerous vibes in Water Birth. Otherwise, the compositions on the album are livelier and more energetic. There's still a great deal of massive guitar sounds and tons of mood, but their significance is reduced by faster pace and the omnipresent piano keys that can be both a beautiful ornament of the heavier music or its core elements (as in Still Waters Run Deep).

The second half of the album is opened by its only track with vocals (provided by Mahesh Ragunandan). I See You opens as a sad ballad with piano-based arrangements and ends with a post-rock-like crescendo with heavily ethereal vibes. Most of the time though, the album is about how good the piano works with the post-rock which is perfectly summarized in the finishing track Is That... You? and its mesmerizing finish.

52 (Remastered) costs 4.99 EUR.

Check: Is That... You?

Country: UK

Genre: piano-based post-rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify: