It has a gentle acoustic pulse and Summer’s voice rises to his upper register in the chorus, which gives some variation to the vocal pattern on the rest of the collection. There’s a bit of guitar noodling with plenty of cymbal and snare hits to accompany it but, even when the opportunity arises, the duo never seem to cut loose and relax.ĭecember is a song of regret (“ no more faith in the world we knew before”) that suggests the time for second chances has gone. Silence on Silence has an engaging twangly guitar part and some modulator twiddling on the keyboard to spice things up but when the vocal melody comes in the now familiar, and rather predictable and plodding verse-chorus-verse pattern returns. The line becomes merely a distant backing for the chorus before it returns near the end, missing an opportunity for an audience singalong as the duo steer the song towards their template of restrained mainstream ballad pop. When the Shadow Falls has an “ oh-oh-oh” opening and it’s a shame that this isn’t given more time to grow before the verse begins.
Harvester of Souls uses an acoustic guitar and keyboard chords to back Summers’ plaintive voice, giving a welcome switch to the arrangement half way through the album.
Hall of Mirrors too has a slightly darker resonance with its off kilter reverberations and minor key vocal melody and there is a sense of a troubled mind at work in the lyrics: “ reaching out across the years for an answer or an insight”.
Nevertheless, it still ventures towards the extended vowel epic chorus found in most of the other tracks.
October helio sequence full#
This track eschews percussion to begin with as the melody and guitar is foregrounded but, The Helio Sequence’s arrangements tend to build as a song grows and by the end October has keys, guitars, full kit percussion and vocals echoes added.ĭownward Spiral takes a different tack to the clean guitars and drums of the rest of the album by including layers of reverb and tripping beats. Second chances is a recurring theme of the album, with the lyrics of October stating “ there will be another time…it will come again”. The same pattern is followed by The Measure and Open Letter, which add synths to the economical guitar and drum parts. Very little is added – sleigh bells and echoing multi-tracked vocals come in near the end to give additional layers but the focus remains on simple melody.
Opener One More Time has an introduction that enables the listener to notice the tinny resonance of the tom toms and the simplicity of the vibrating guitar part before Summers’ warmly rounded voice embarks on the pleasant major key melody. Singer/guitarist Brandon Summers and drummer/keyboardist Benjamin Weikel aka The Helio Sequence return with Negotations and their stripped back two-man approach lends their songcraft a greater clarity than if the arrangements had been conceived for a bigger band. And it’s the same with musical duos – the parameters of each individual’s artistry is all the more exposed when there’s no band to hide behind. It’s as if becoming a couple encourages people’s true personalities to emerge from the crowd. When some people venture into a new relationship all their previously hidden traits seem to come to the fore.
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