Light Up by Solstice

Light Up by  Solstice, released in 2023.

Excellent compositions and beautiful lyrics, once again. Songs that start with a soft mood and then grow and enrich themselves. A mix of splendid and profound folk and funk, and obviously a prog that doesn't sacrifice complexity of tempos and variations, nor the graceful violin and acoustic guitar.

We talked about Solstice in the post dedicated to their latest, splendid album,  Clann, released in 2025, and other works.

Andy Glass is superb with his guitar solos and a rhythm section that's always precise and full of flavor, not to mention the vocals, both solo and backing vocals, which are TOP.

- The title track, Light Up, is fantastic, very rhythmic with decidedly progressive tempos and with Jenny Newman's violin and Jess Holland's vocals taking center stage.

- Wongle No. 9 stands out with its counter-tempos accompanied by violin. It's a beautiful, very complex piece with beautiful guitar and a wonderful, funky rhythm section featuring Robin Phillips on bass and Pete Hemsley on drums.

- Mount Ephraim is pure folk, breaking the mold a bit with its traditional Irish ballad sound, all arranged in their own style with fantastic backing vocals and a splendid violin.

- Run, with its splendid electric guitar chords, Jenny's electric violin, and electronic drums, but above all, Jess's passionate voice is beautiful. A soft, light track with beautiful counter-melodies that changes mood as the song opens, when the fiery violin enters, and closes with great passion and emotion.

- Home, beautiful with an extraordinary vocal performance by Jess Hollande and excellent violin and keyboard.

- Bulbul Tarang, a prog fusion song, is a fantastic piece with a wonderful backing vocal, Andy Glass's great lead guitar, and an incredibly emotional finale.

Beautiful artwork and beautiful colored vinyl.

I've already said what I think of this band many times: their sound makes me feel good, instilling serenity and light.

So, I highly recommend listening to this beautiful album of theirs.

Tracks
1. Light Up (5:39)
2. Wongle No. 9 (7:14)
3. Mount Ephraim (5:59)
4. Run (8:14)
5. Home (6:42)
6. Bulbul Tarang (10:24)
Running Time 44:12

Line-Up
- Andy Glass - guitar, vocals
- Jenny Newman - violin, fiddle, backing vocals
- Pete Hemsley - drums
- Jess Holland - vocals, additional acoustic guitar
- Robin Phillips - bass
- Steven McDaniel - keyboards, backing vocals
- Ebony Buckle - vocals, additional keyboards, percussion
- Jen Sanin - backing vocals, additional acoustic guitar, percussion
Featuring:
- Chris Sampson (6)