Sundrowned – Higanbana
Release Date: 26th September 2025
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Metal, Blackgaze, Sludge Metal.
FFO: Isis, Cult of Luna, The Ocean, Neurosis, Rosetta.
Review By: Pete Wall
Building on the foundation laid with their 2021 debut Become Ethereal, Norwegian post-metal outfit Sundrowned return with another soul-searching reflection on what it means to be a human being. Taking its title from the Japanese red spider lily, Higanbana is a record borne from the image of that specific lily, whose flowers and leaves bloom at distinct times and never meet. More evocative still, the poisonous bulbs of the higanbana are planted to protect graves and rice fields from pests. The juxtaposition of life and death; growth and decay clearly fuel the creative force of the project. To this end, the album artwork evokes a sense of bodily rebirth and the connection between the human form and the soil beneath our feet. This is extremely fertile ground for post-metal exploration, but does the resultant work flourish or wilt under the blazing sun of unforgiving scrutiny?
Opener Barren comes out the gate with the proverbial siren song: gentle post-rock-tinged instrumentation luring the curious straight onto the jagged rocks of harsh gravel-scrape vocals before returning them to calmer water. The soothing and suffering of Sundrowned’s approach is woven throughout the album and, one track after another, there’s a sort of mixed state that takes hold. At its best this is a promising stride forward from their earlier work, and yet it can also become somewhat shapeless and indistinct at times. Nevertheless, there are flashes of brilliance within the tumult of it all. A case in point is the blissed out sways, recessions, and then massive builds of The Seed, or the blackgaze Infinite-Granite-era-Deafheaven textures of Ilex.
Higanbana is a somewhat challenging record to pin down. On the one hand, its lush production and explorative strings make for what is at times a breathtaking backdrop to its high-minded themes. It’s easy to get lost in the journey; to find yourself shifting between half-memories and personal revelations in the way that only really good post-metal and post-rock can manage. On the other hand, there’s something in the abrasive vocals and their interplay with the far more delicate and progressive instrumentation that comes up short at times. To be clear, this isn’t an issue with the concept or intent of the record, but rather in its execution. On this front there seem to be a number of contributing factors. For one, the production, although radiant and spacious, lacks in dynamic range in key moments and leaves the soundscape a little flat. Comparisons with work from the likes of The Ocean and Cult of Luna only serve to highlight this shortcoming. The vocals also tend to feel a little unmoored from the rest of the instruments just when they need to coalesce into something more unified and impactful. For all of the album’s promise and the depth of the talent involved, there isn’t quite enough here to add up to something truly memorable. Higanbana is a record that certainly made me think, but rarely made me feel.
(3.5 / 5)
