Sometimes an album cover can give a very descriptive sense of the music contained within. Traverse the Bealach (Avantgarde Records), the second album by multi-instrumentalist Tony Dunn (under the name Sgàile) portrays a solitary figure, gazing out over a stormy landscape.
Is danger on the horizon? Is there a treacherous journey ahead?
Something of both, as it turns out, with this being a concept album about trekking in a post-apocalyptic Scotland (partly inspired by Dunn’s experiences of the Covid pandemic in his native Scotland and his own personal interest in trekking — those album cover mountains are there for a reason!).
And what kind of music would fit such themes? For Sgàile the musical landscape to fit the thematic and visual one could neatly be described as epic rock. Think Operation: Mindcrime / Empire Queensrÿche, or Iron Maiden with Brave New World.
The production is lush and sometimes quite gorgeous (for instance the twinkling guitars on “The Ptarmigans Cry”), with crystal clarity between the drums, guitars, bass and vocals (that have something of Alice In Chains about them). Light synth atmospherics and occasional piano add some extra colour and resonance.
“Entangled in the Light” brings to mind Queensrÿche’s “Silent Lucidity” in its big-soft-rock balladry. As with almost every track on the album the run time hovers around the ten minute mark. This is another primary feature of the album, Dunn has a penchant for riding these songs out on the open plains (or the hilly Scottish landscapes) for quite a while. Sometimes it can feel a bit like “ok, I get it, it’s epic!”, but it takes a cold heart to deny the rousing power of the music (see “Psalms to shout at the void” for unabashed epic stylings, as well as some folk influences in some of the vocal phrasing).
There’s a thread of gloom and darkness running through the album (despite the beauty) that brings to mind a band like A Perfect Circle. Sometimes it can feel like the whole presentation is a bit po-faced (not helped with occasional clunky lines like “the sun’s getting brighter in the sky and I can see the rivers running dry”), but these are largely the criticisms of a wearied listener who’s prone to getting annoyed by rock cliches.
It’s moments like this and the frequent grand vocal oooh oooh ooohs that can make Traverse the Bealach feel a bit risible, but ultimately, does it sound good? Yes. Is it powerful? Yes. Does it have emotional resonance? Yes.
Sometimes such earnest rock epicry (I know that’s not a real word, but it should be) makes listening to this album feel like something of a guilty pleasure, but it’s still a pleasure. “Oh-oh oh oh-oh, Oh-oh oh oh-oh” indeed.
Buy the album here:
https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/traverse-the-bealach
8 / 10
TOM OSMAN