Smoking Gun
Reverie Suite, 2025
9/10
An outfit spearheaded by Saskia Kraft van Ermel and Hoyt Binder, this 3rd album from Euphoria Station continues their classic rock inspired rawness that uses an impressive backing band.
“Amazing Grace (In Memory Of…)” opens the listen with a quick, primitive recording of the powerful classic that’s just guitar, and “Take The Highway” follows with Toss Panos’ fluid drumming that suits van Ermel’s smooth voice amid much melody.
Further along, “Off The Beaten Path” makes great use of Jorgen Carlsson’s meticulous bass licks alongside Binder’s swirling guitar and the expressive singing, while “The Ballad Of Grace Malloy” trims the pace back via a warm instrumental that showcases Binder’s precise guitar and charming dobro.
Arriving near the end, the rhythmic “Living For Today” pairs grit with harmonics in the progressive delivery that’s the album’s best, and “November Came Early” exits with soft versus firm gestures of lush and thoughtful ideas that balance hard rock and folk.
A more stripped down version of the band exists here but not without plenty of hooks and instantly memorable songwriting, where the meshing of prog, southern and roots rock makes for an original and timeless effort.
Travels well with: MOTU- Awareness Or Illusion; Coincidence- Mets tes lunettes et écoute comme ça sent bon – Vol. 2