The callers in the storm are back. After two excursions into the field of alternative guitar rock, the British-Australian formation around Richard Levy has remembered its true strengths and with ´The Only Solace´ has produced a breath takingly beautiful neofolk album which catapults OSTARA right back to the spearhead of the genre. Fatalistic lyrics full of abysmal thoughts, executed with sensitive vocals, carried by captivating melodies and crystal clear acoustic guitar accords.
Far removed from cheap effect and unreflected symbolic games, OSTARA creates a magical animist world under the spell of a tragic past and faced with an uncertain future. In their mystical world view they penetrate time and open the view for unforeseen connectivities. In this context many lyrics are revealed as traps, and mundane experiences take a cruel twist. Levy´s lyrics surround the listener with comforting atmospheres and metaphors, a quality that is unique in the area of neofolk, just to awake the listener in an ungentle manner from sleep to reason. Our buildings are already ruins.
When the rustle of the masses turns into noise, the cry of the individual appears like a tentative murmur in the wind. Hardly any other band understands how to express the silent tragic and heroic of the awakened individual so powerfully. And OSTARA deserves to be listened to.