Nine Stones Close released their last new studio album (Leaves) in 2016 and in 2024 we now have two new NSC studio albums released within the space of 4 months with Adventures in Anhedonia following close on the heels of Diurnal. This is a band that does not stand still and after the harder edged Leaves Nine Stones Close have progressed significantly further on from their melodic prog tones of 2010’s Traces and its 2012 follow up One Eye on the Sunrise.
Nine Stones Close are named after the remains of a mysterious ancient stone circle situated in England’s Peak District near where their main man Adrian Jones grew up. Jones is also the rock upon which Nine Stones Close is built, and like the eponymous stone circle, Jones preserves some mystery in the music, allowing listeners to interpret the lyrics for themselves. However, the cover of the Adventures In Anhedonia album, by Antonio Seijas of Marillion artwork renown, shows a blank faced man with sunken, shadowy eyes giving a strong indication as to the emotions soaked into this album – a sense of dislocation, sadness and loneliness.
Album opener Beach Walker certainly sets the scene, atmospherically introducing us into a stark but very restrained synth washed landscape. An insistent guitar note increases the tempo and drums then add heft to this increasingly tense song, reminiscent of one of Adrian Jones’ favourite bands Alice in Chains. The tension breaks and soft piano rain drops from Brendan Eyre form the eye of the storm. Adrian O’Shaughnessy’s voice conveys such desolate emotion. This musical storm then breaks in the final section, Adrian Jones’ keening guitars scraping the sky until the piece fades away almost in exhaustion. If we didn’t know before, we certainly know now that this will be an intense experience as we gain a glimpse into Jones’ mental state, which appears to include some traumatic experiences. Adrian has shared about this album: “…it really reflects what’s been happening to me over the past years, the effect it’s had on me and how I have tried to deal with some of it…”
The smouldering Anhedonia track proceeds sombrely with restraint. The definition of ‘Anhedonia’, which is a psychiatric term meaning ‘an inability to feel pleasure in normally pleasurable activities’, tells us we are in for an anguish filled ride into lyricist Adrian Jones’ psyche. Keyboardist Brendan Eyre has returned to Nine Stones Close in 2024 for the first time since One Eye on the Sunrise in 2012, and he contributes significantly to the song writing on Adventures in Anhedonia. His sensitive touch and influence is particularly evident on the brooding and shadowy Binary, and on the instrumental The Mind. This also features a delicately picked guitar from Adrian Jones, before much meatier electric guitars grind in and concludes in the almost dream-like reverie of Eyre’s piano. The tortured vocals and lyrics indicate a real tension and sense of dislocation from the digital domination of modern life for lyricist Adrian Jones:
Are you doing OK? I can’t say,
Reality is unreal, Surreal is real’
Walk Towards the Sun sheds more light, and a softer musical tone leading up to a stately flowing guitar-led finale, but this is only a brief respite in intensity as we then enter the fractured, dissonant, nightmarish soundscape of Landwaster, co-written with Michel Simons. The stark, percussive rhythms and the growling menace of O’Shaughnessy’s vocals evokes images akin to W.B Yeats’ ‘The Second Coming’ poem as the ‘Rough Beast… Slouches towards Bethlehem’. This overwhelming sense of depression and desolation is a hard listen emotionally… and that’s probably the point. These songs have clearly been borne out of dark places, and Jones uses his music to convey his deepest, most heartfelt feelings.
The intensity of emotion is nowhere more evident than on the heartbreaking Hole, which features melancholy cello sounds on keyboards. This piece is a real showcase of some impassioned and impactful singing from O’Shaughnessy, singing words of such regret and loss. Like so many of Jones’ lyrics they are open to some interpretation, but the meaning is clear, focusing on a significant loss, whether of a relationship or a bereavement:
Never got to hear the songs I wrote for you, before you left’
The finale and main highlight of Adventures in Anhedonia is the striking Plastic Animals, opening in slow burning, almost pastoral tones, which after three minutes transmogrifies into a relentless juggernaut on caterpillar tracks of pounding drums from Lars Spijkervet, and Joachim van Praagh’s magnificent rumbling bass. O’Shaughnessy roars the vocals with such passion, trying to convey Jones’ internal turmoil. Adrian Jones has shared that Plastic Animals was a song inspired by a therapy session in which he started to question much about himself ‘and who I really am now, and what I want from life going forward.’ This turbulent inner journey is evocatively conveyed by the power of the whole band and Jones’ own crunching, relentless guitars, which may symbolize what Jones describes as a ‘jump into the rapids’. This cathartic plunge may well have been an epiphany for Adrian Jones and in an album full of darkness and melancholy there is a glimmer of self-realisation and hope:
I know I need to change, I cannot live this way,
I want to break the Devil’s hold, but the Devil inside me will know…’
This heavyweight piece then explodes with Jones’ guitar streaking upwards… before drifting down on a delicate guitar and vocal coda:
It is a truly impactful way to finish the album, leaving one feeling almost breathless. Adventures in Anhedonia is another impressive release from Nine Stones Close, imbued with deeply felt emotions and performed with at times searing intensity. Adrian Jones in particular bares his soul lyrically and the band conveys his anguish, rage, frustration with power and skill. Nine Stones Close have moved on so far from their classic melodic guitar led melodic progressive rock with a hard edge of their great 2010 album Traces. This is a band which does not stand still and explores the heavier and darker recesses of the human psyche with dynamic, imaginative and unpredictable songs. Going on Adventures in Anhedonia takes us on one of the most intense musical inner journeys of 2024 – it’s certainly quite a ride!
Earlier in the summer of 2024 Nine Stories Close released Diurnal which The Progressive Aspect’ inexplicably failed to review at the time (sorry NSC!), so it feels appropriate to consider their first album of 2024 as a summarised addendum.
As the name suggests Diurnal portrays the progression of one day, whilst also touching on psychological struggles we all face at times. The surreal eye catching artwork is by that stalwart of Gazpacho album covers, Antonio Seijias. Diurnal feels cinematic and descriptive in nature with four of the eight tracks being instrumental in nature. The opening couplet of songs, Birds, Insects and Kites followed by The Veil evoke images of the dawning of the day, and were both written by Brendan Eyre. Birds, Insects and Kites is particularly atmospheric and arresting with Eyre painting sonic landscapes with synth effects, leading into a distinctive almost bluesy guitar from Adrian Jones, ably backed by bassist Joachim van Praagh and Lars Spijkervet on rock solid drums. The Veil is an ambient synth washed piece. Brendan Eyre’s deft keyboard skills are to the fore on the other two instrumentals, In Remembrance and Golden Hour, which feel like linking pieces in a film soundtrack.
Ghosted features restrained and classy vocals from O’Shaughnessy in a smoothly dignified song with a particularly graceful guitar from Jones. In contrast Angel of Flies is an unsettling piece bristling with insectoid rhythms and effects. The sense of unease builds and builds with some suitably spiky drumming and thrumming synths. The finale feels like an overwhelming sonic swarm.
The centrepiece of the album is the piledriving and extended Frustration / Sedation which initially floods the senses with keening guitars sizzling over a tidal wave of sound, which suddenly recedes to an almost whispered vocal section. The opening bank of keyboards returns briefly as a juncture with echoing guitars and Shaughnessy intoning darkly:
The musical clouds part for a much more uplifting passage with acoustic guitars, tinkling pianos and soft percussion evoking summer scenes. However, the day progresses, and O’Shaughnessy’s previous more anguished litany returns with added musical impetus and impact. Jones’ metallic hard-edged guitar strafes the main rhythms.
Final song Dusk takes us to the end of the day with echoing sounds, Ry Cooder like picked guitar and double bass, conjuring images of humid summer evenings and an especially passionate vocal from the outstanding Adrian O’Shaughnessy. An extended, subtle coda gradually fades us away in to the night as the day, and Diurnal, are both concluded. Diurnal is a fascinating mixture of cinematic soundscapes and more intense rock passages, composed with intuitive imagination, transporting the listener to other places. Marrying those sorts of styles together successfully is a real challenge but Nine Stones Close have skilfully found the balance between soft and loud, light and dark to produce a dynamic and captivating album.
Some bands struggle to release one decent album every year or so, so it is all the more remarkable that Adrian Jones and his bandmates have managed to put out two such high quality albums of such contrasting styles. This is a band that knows no boundaries musically in their challenging, thought-provoking lyrical themes. Back in 2016 in my review of their Leaves album I suggested Nine Stones Close ‘do not stick to their old formula and want to progress’ and that remains true this year. The only constant with Nine Stones Close is change, and after two fine albums in one year it will be fascinating to see in which direction they go next – it’s always worth the ride!
TRACK LISTING
Adventures in Anhedonia
01. Beach Walker (6:11)
02. Anhedonia (6:16)
03. Binary (5:33)
04. The Mind (3:01)
05. Walk Towards the Sun (3:20)
06. Landwaster (5:20)
07. The Moment I Stopped Caring (2:21)
08. Hole (4:59)
09. Plastic Animals (8:26)
Total Time – 45:29
MUSICIAN
Adrian Jones – Guitars, Guitar Synth, Drum Programming, Bass Guitar, Synth Brass & Backing Vocals
Brendan Eyre – Keyboards
Adrian O’Shaughnessy – Vocals
Joachim van Praagh – Bass
Lars Spijkervet – Drums
~ With:
Michel Simons – Keyboards
Paul Van Zeeland – Samples
Alex Blade Jones – Guitar
TRACK LISTING
Diurnal
01. Birds, Insects and Kites (3:39)
02. The Veil (1:48)
03. Ghosted (4:24)
04. Angel of Flies (7:40)
05. In Remembrance (2:02)
06. Frustration / Sedation (11:57)
07. Golden Hour (1:32)
08. Dusk (10:48)
Total Time – 43:44
MUSICIANS
Same as for Adventures in Anhedonia
~ With:
Paul Van Zeeland – Bass (6)
Christian Bruin – Keyboards (8)
Joachim van Praagh – Double Bass (8)
Adrian Jones – Bass Guitar (8)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: FREIA Music
Country of Origin: U.K.
Date of Release: 11th July 2024 (Diurnal)
Date of Release: 7th November 2024 (Adventures in Anhedonia)
DISCOGRAPHY
– St. Lo (2008)
– Traces (2010)
– Falling to Pieces (EP) (2011)
– One Eye on the Sunrise (2012)
– Leaves (2016)
– Traces (10th Anniversary Edition) (2020)
– One Eye on the Sunrise (10th Anniversary Edition) 2023
– Diurnal (2024)
– Adventures in Anhedonia (2024)
LINKS
Nine Stones Close – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram