Review: Prana Crafter – ‘MindStreamBlessing’
Similar to (getting lost) wandering around in the woods, Prana Crafter’s newest collection of songs, MindStreamBlessing, is a soundtrack (and testament) to the soul-recharging revelation found in a hushed environment of towering pines, mossy greens, and guitar-center cosmic jams. Prana Crafter’s man in tow, William Sol, is a transmitter of a myriad of guitar styles and colored forms. MindStreamBlessing (out now on Eiderdown Records) is a perfect manuscript displaying Sol’s heart and musical insights.
“At Agartha’s Gate,” the album opener, is a warm greeting of delicate strumming and focused guitar tones. Less an exercise of dexterity, Sol places his intentions in welcoming his listeners around the campfire. The follow up, “As The Weather Commands,” is a ruckus, psychedelic affair of crunchy, shrieking guitars, and tribal percussion. The feedback blasts stoke the campfire, while Sol’s focus lulls the listener deeper into the overgrown woodland. The ethereal organ and drone ending, blankets comfort to this safe, yet unusual forest. “Prajna Pines” demonstrates Sol drifting deep below the canopy. His guitars hum a richness echoed throughout the timberland. The haunted “MindStreamBlessing” yields an acoustic dark tale rooted in identifying the present time. The unified “Luminous Clouds” is ripe with foreboding notes and intense ramp ups. The vestige of meditative paces and space rock, jams into territory new age guitar and effects wizard, Mark McGuire, would be proud record. Album closer “Bardo Nectar” provides a sweet aftertaste collected in Sol’s lush notes and reverb explosions.
Throughout MindStreamBlessing Sol hikes past the campsites of his contemporaries and avoids sounding like a doppelganger to any one axe man. His guitar playing ignites the primitive and elemental sounds found in nature, yet his atmospheric touch is deceptively easy to miss. Sol succeeds by offering plenty of snacks for listeners to consume while journeying deep into the belly of the Pacific Northwest’s unmapped terrain. The breadcrumb trail Sol scatters is more than a path away from your mundane rituals, strides from your job and places of frequency – it’s an invitation and reminder to break bread and share during these peculiar times.
Come find us…the fire’s ready.
(Listen to MindStreamBlessing below via Bandcamp and you can get more info about Prana Crafter on Facebook HERE.)