Petrichon - Equinox II: Moonlight

​Petrichon

Equinox II: Moonlight
self-released; 2016

3.7 out of 5

By Dom Eagle

Petrichon is an Indonesian two-man music project, founded by Aldo Veraldi and Philip Nicholas in 2015. They’ve been working hard throughout the past two years to create instrumental and progressive rock/metal music with splashes of jazz, electronica and a wide array of music genres. It is mellow and aggressive all at once.

I’ve never heard such a diverse array of sound contained within such a short space without the band creating a jumbled, incoherent mess. Petrichon, somehow, manages to keep this release incredibly structured. They’ve released three EPs and listening to their latest entitled Equinox II: Moonlight was an experience which left me itching to go and listen to part one.

This four-track EP opens with a synth-based, dark, intense arpeggio which sounds as if it is the soundtrack for a twisted, disturbed horror film. This track, the self-titled “Moonlight” somehow transforms into a metallic sound which, despite the screeching, satisfying, distorted electric guitar, manages to imbue much more upbeat and jovial emotions in the listener.

This is a great thing, of course; it’s just interesting that the progression into a metallic sound could serve to create a much happier sonic soundscape. Jazzy elements, in the form of twinkling piano rhythms, serve to break up this instrumental piece with slight variances during the verses. Occasional bursts of electric guitar solos dance and frantically flourish all over the track at intermittent periods achieving something which so few instrumental bands manage to achieve: a diverse and captivating sound. It’s so easy for the absence of vocals in a song to lead the remaining instruments down a dull, repetitive path. That isn’t the case with Petrichon.

The second track entitled “Gegenschein” opts for a much blunter, more brutal approach. Scorching, electrifying electric guitar chords burst into view, atop a slowly and precisely crashing drum beat. Of course, all the same melodic elements are there: the twinkling minimalist, yet perfectly-chosen piano notes and the satisfyingly-catchy electric guitar solos. This time, dark, tense and understated synth rhythms break up the metallic madness in the down periods, building the listener back towards the musical crescendos for which I’ve now come to associate Petrichon.

​For a band specializing in instrumental music, and an indie band at that, I’ve never been so involved with the music of a mere four-track EP before. This was truly an experience. Everything from jazzy, clean guitar, otherworldly sci-fi-esque synth patterns, piano arpeggios and crunchy, distorted, metallic, electric madness dominates this short EP. Yet, at the same time, nothing feels forced or rushed. It’s well worth a listen.

bandcamp

youtube

Tweet