Arriving late to the party with this one (although, better late than never), Jonathan Hulten’s Eyes Of The living Night was released back in January via Kscope records. Known for his work with Swedish goth metallers Tribulation (whom Jonathan left in 2020), his solo work showcases a very different side, with the bulk of the album focused on a more ambient-folk side that drifts dreamily through the speakers. Beautifully produced by Ola Ersfiord and Jonathan, with Chris Common providing the mastering, it’s an enigmatic little album further bolstered by the lovely artwork that adorns the sleeve.
Opening the album, The Saga And The Storm is a lengthy rumination on life and love. With Jonathan’s voice calling form the centre of a haze of ambient noise, scattershot percussion, and guitar it recalls the darker work of Richard Hawley, and it is a beguiling entrance to an album that consistently seeks to surprise. Second track Afterlife finds Jonathan experimenting with expansive production tricks that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Muse album, his voice soaring across a graceful, predominantly electronic backdrop. The surprises continue with the childlike Falling Mirages, which sounds like a mashup of early Peter Gabriel and Beck, the lilting melody perfectly suiting the whistful lyrics. In contrast, Riverflame, which opens with a distorted organ straight out of Porcupine Tree, has a darker tone to it, given still greater weight by the swooning guitar lines that drift across its surface. The first half of this enigmatic album comes to a conclusion with the crunchy tones of The Dream Was The Cure, a dreamy track that combines elements of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and HIM into a gothic-western wonder that sounds wholly unique.
Opening side two, the whimsy returns on the stoned-folk of Song Of Transience, a rather lovely piece with layered vocals and a music-box melody that is so far outside of the typical rock paradigm that it feels beamed in from another realm altogether. An instrumental piece, Through The Fog, Into The Sky feels like a coda to the piece that preceded it and it paves the way for Dawn, which throws elements of Billy Corgan and Jeff Buckley into the mix, the opulent production weaving a rich web around the listener. In contrast, the folky Vast Tapestry is limited primarily to the acoustic guitar, with just a touch of dusty lead guitar in the second half to open up the sound.
With the album drifting dreamily past, the expansive The Ocean’s Arms returns to the hazy Richard Hawley vibe of the opening track, the deftly used percussion and massed vocals all creating a truly immersive soundscape within which the listener can easily become lost. Another instrumental A Path Is Found provides a neat bridge to the album’s concluding piece – the surprisingly light-touch Starbather which, with its multitracked guitars and rippling piano, sounds like Wolfmother covering Supertramp. It makes for a fitting end to this endlessly evolving album and, with its frothy pop-rock vibe, it helps to ease the listener back to reality.
A lovely album, Eyes Of The Living Night finds Jonathan Hulten referencing any number of classic rock and prog acts while making something that is resolutely his own. If, occasionally, the production threatens to overwhelm (especially on some of the more processed vocal tracks), Jonathan is savvy enough to allow a gentler piece to follow, ensuring the album as a whole lives and breathes, drawing the listener in and keeping them there. As a result, you’ll find yourself returning to this subtly progressive album time and time again as it comforts and cajoles you, by turns singing you to sleep, and whispering through your dreams. Don’t miss out on Eyes Of The Living Night. It may not be the most immediate album, but it’s surely a very rewarding one. 8.5/10
