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Album-Review — leftfolk (July 2024)

EPHEMERAL – INTO BEING (2023)

Ephemeral is primarily a dark folk trio of multi-instrumental musicians from Würzburg, Germany. Into Being is their latest work, featuring a plethora of guest musicians and lyrics based in English lore and history. Listeners may recognize them from our most recent compilation, ‘VI: The World As It Is,’ for which they contributed the song, ‘Love Will Stay,’ which can be heard from their first self-titled EP from 2020. If you are familiar with that song, you already know that you are in for something delightful. Into Being is a lovely album that takes you through a fantastical exploration of longing, growth, and nature’s flow of time. This album is a dark folk beauty with an undeniable progressive influence, showcasing moments that are very complex yet timeless, with rich instrumental flourishes and layered psychotropic vocals. The album opens with the aptly titled ‘Chrysalis’ which is an atmospheric opener with fitful guitar and harmonium, cultivating space for the next song, ‘Let Go’ to shatter the space with narrative energy. The song invites you to let go of your fears, and you should, as the album continues with other great pieces like Disappear and the instrumental, Ororerg. A notable highlight on this album is a gorgeous version of a traditional English murder ballad, ‘The Cruel Sister’ (also known as The Twa Sisters or Two Sisters), which has been played by numerous artists including the English rock band, Pentangle. The version on this album is haunting and atmospheric, drawing the listener into a quiet space, building into something that pulls you in with great tension. The album is full of moments like these, with tension rising and falling like great waves, carried out through complex instrumentation and with sharp intent. We highly recommend you check out this album and add it to your library alongside other previous releases by Ephemeral as well.