review: DemiAura -- melodic prog from the USA

DemiAura

The Ascendant

Pavement Entertainment

16 July 2021

1. Pleiadian

2. Heavy Skies

3. Between Two Fires

4. Through the Ages

5. The Dreaming

6. Antikythera

7. Escaping the Event Horizon

8. Shining Through

9. Perfidy

10. Equinox

According to official sources, the beginnings of this entity seem to go back to the 1990s, and has had various phases, of which this is the most recent, now ready with their debut album finally to see the light of day in 2021. They call home the scorching-heat desert lands of Arizona, in the southwestern United States, bordering with Mexico. For years figuratively wandering in the desert, drummer Keith Heaney, guitarist Bobby Chávez and keyboardist Jonathan Gabriel, Jr. had been trying to find a singer. They have must tried to sing themselves. The drummer maybe found out that singing and playing drums live is not that much fun. The guitarist felt too busy playing guitar, perhaps, as did the keyboardist, who might not be a multitasker, anyway. Maybe they found other singers, but it just did not work out, obviously. They say that in 2017 someone auditioned and their singer had finally arrived in the form of vocalist Chelsea Wrathchild. Enter the 2021 version of DemiAura and their debut album.

DemiAura can be summarized in one word: quality. Some bands are funny, dexterous, fast, slow, heavy, weird, political, weightlifters, cape wearers, avocado aficionados or whatever else. However, the Arizonans have a passion for quality. That's their starting point. If these desert inhabitants could ask a question, it would be, "When you hear our music, are you able to hear the quality of it?" Their hope is that people who are music supporters will give them more than a few seconds to decide if they like it or not. As far the musicianship goes, not only does the album sound clear and professional, their skill and hard work is easy to hear. The music is mostly midtempo, melodic, and relatively mellow. Attention: As long as the listener is patient enough to let the music do its job in the mind, with time to unfold in one’s imagination, the music holds value for the audience. On the other hand, it is very possible that the band has a perfectionist streak in them, and they have carefully composed every note down to the second. Perhaps a bit too much. The music leans substantially on the progressive side, to the detriment of the rocking side. This makes the album an interesting listen to the audiences supportive of melodic prog, but it might be too anti-rocking or anti-fun for younger audiences or for the audiences that would like a bit more of a balance between rocking and prog.

To conclude, the audiences of melodic, pleasant, lighter prog with singing should consider giving their attention to this debut album. It is probable that the music will offer a fresher, newer presentation that will complement nicely the older and established traditional acts of the genre.

DemiAura - "Between Two Fires" (Official Music Video)

https://www.facebook.com/demiaura