Review Summary: A very good introducing record, reminiscent of Anathema, Flowing Tears and Blazing Eternity, with emphasized ambient element.
Hollow Branches is a project featuring Robert Osgood and Marius Sjoli and Okanagana Waves is their first album.
Okanagana Waves is comprised of 7 songs and this whole album, from the opening Rumor the Past down to the closing Afterward gives you a feeling of harmony due to the album’s calmness. It makes your thoughts relaxed, refreshing your mind by its sound. The vibe I get by listening to these tunes more and more is that it has a rebellion hiding beyond its calm melodies. It possesses the melancholic silence of a doom metal album and obvious structure of progressive rock that puts you in a hard situation when trying to understand its musical side. Not all songs, but most of them have parts reminiscent of Anathema. That’s mostly notable in a second song of the album called Habitual.
The highlight and also my favorite songs off the record is the title track Okanagana Waves. As it’s case with all other tracks, this song starts off with calming sounds as well and by the end it’s accompanied with progressive/doom touches. Robert provides his best work speaking of vocals in this number, uncovering the meaning of rebellion I pointed out.
In order to get my full attention, a song has to show its melancholic side. And this album does it, this album is what I want to hear. If you call yourself a fan of Anathema, Flowing Tears or Blazing Eternity, you should give a chance to Hollow Branches.
