New Jersey based rock collective Fool Saint are all about larger than life soundscapes. Each track on their majestic EP ‘In a Field, Away from the City’ is loaded with substance and melody in equal measure. There’s an intricacy to the instrumentation, a constant tussle between complex arrangements and more meticulously planned out progression in each track. The structures are clearly in place with each piece having such a clearly laid out journey for the listener to follow. From the opening softer acoustic on ‘When I call You’ to when the guitars start to get crashing and electric and the vocal chorus starts to become increasingly louder and more impassioned, you can see a clear progressive element that they keenly adopt.
. Formed in 2020, Fool Saint aims to ignite societal introspection and conversation through frontwoman Sara Bruno’s psychedelic story-telling, the contrasting yet complementary guitar styles of Austin Lipinski and Christian Berrigan (ex: Gatherers ), Michael Doyle’s smooth and groove-driven basslines, and the energetic, rhythmic approach from drummer Kyle Meehan. Their coming together makes way for a uniquely euphoric and nostalgic style of progressive indie rock.
Each song on this record feels like a whole gamut of emotions and styles all enclosed within their short but sumptuously succinct runtimes. This album prioritises dexterous simplicity over baroque flamboyance. It is contemplative but also consistently energetic, never once resorting to sounding urgent or heavy handed. It transports you with transcendental pieces of progressive rock that have you continually moving between luscious and vibrant soundscapes simply loaded to the brim with so many intricacies and auditory components that start become strikingly visual the more and more you sink into it. A masterfully artful piece of indie rock.