For their second release, Dagaz Music from Portugal has spotted some new talent in the northern spheres of Eskilstuna, Sweden. Sub Luna is a duo consisting of Mikael Lindblom and Frederik Sööberg. “In the Shade of time” is their debut. They are active since a few years. Their earlier material is added on a bonus disc that comes with this release.
Acoustic guitars, moody songs with clear melodies and solemn male vocals form the main ingredients of Sub Luna’s music. Typical dark/neofolk will quickly come to mind as a stylistic description. For a large part this is the case, even the romantic (synthetic?) string sounds are not uncommon in neofolk. The guitar sound is a bit deviant though, with some tremolo and slide guitar elements. Perhaps you can compare the sound of Sub Luna a bit to Kutna Hora, Cawatana or Harvest Rain.
I must say that I don’t find “In the Shade of Time” very concinving. The album never sounds as exciting as for instance Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. The first minutes don’t sound unpleasant, but not much changes as the album continues. The songs are slow, without much variation in melody or pace. Also the vocals are not very lively, the singer sounds a bit tired, perhaps he tries to hard to come across as melancholic. Some of the better (but not original) tracks in my opinion are ‘In virtue’ and ‘The fairest of seasons’. ‘In the Fairest of Seasons’, included on the bonus disc with earlier material, is perhaps the liveliest track.
