JONATHAN HULTEN

When Jonathan Hulten quit Swedish shapeshifters TRIBULATION in 2020, his next move came as a surprise. The transition from a life spent hacking away at the gothic black metal cliff face, to something far more serene and reflective, was clearly an evolutionary leap that had simmered away in the guitarist's heart for years. 2017's "The Dark Night Of The Soul" EP had been a warning. Liberated from any semblance of loyalty to metal, Hultén has become a solo artist of great distinction, with an endearingly eccentric vision. "Eyes Of The Living Night" seeks to build on the esoteric, psychedelic songwriting that made 2020's "Chants From Another Place" so mesmerizing, with a greater emphasis on carving a singular niche in the dark, folk underground.

It is gorgeous from the start. "The Saga And The Storm" is a refined slice of Mellotron-augmented acid folk, with a hazy, sepia-toned atmosphere and insidious hooks that seem to burst in the air like suicidal fireflies. "Afterlife" is equally stunning: a slow-burning soup of skittering synths, sonorous vocoder and austere, quasi-religious restraint. Hultén's stated desire to make his music transformative and inspirational instantly makes a lot of sense. This is a quietly progressive and willfully diverse record, with songs that appear and disappear like oddly soothing hallucinations. "Riverflame" evokes the spirit of obvious forebears like John Martyn and Nick Drake via a dreamlike folk reverie that defies the simplicity of its arrangement by packing a huge emotional punch.

In stark and delirious contrast, "The Dream Was The Cure" ventures into lo-fi, left-field balladry, with more underlying Mellotron cementing the timeless, trippy atmosphere that provides Hultén's tremulous voice with the perfect launch pad. "Song Of Transience" takes a more traditional folk route but does strange and fascinating things with it: the chords and melody are straightforward; the multi-layered surroundings are enthralling. Next, "Through The Fog, Into The Sky" is a piano instrumental with a big, melancholy heart. The dream evolves.

It takes some skill to produce music that sounds both out-of-time and timely. "Dawn" is another sumptuous, crestfallen ballad, and one that shares more than a little DNA with the modern prog contingent. Thanks to a sweet, refreshing haze of modular keys, it also sounds like something beamed into the present from the early '70s. Ancient and modern, stripped to the bone. Songs like the campfire croon of "Vast Tapestry" are haunted by the past, but high on the future, and Hultén's creative intent sits somewhere in between. From the brooding sea shanty of "The Ocean's Arms", to "Starbather"'s lavish, classic rock showstopper, these are songs from the heart, full of darkness and light, and fueled by old-school prog rock's inquisitive spirit. Jonathan Hultén wears some extraordinary hats. Commendable.