BRIAR

From the ever-prolific well of Daniel Romano, this new record features members of The Outfit in a stripped down setting with ‘70s folk in mind. The stated inspirations for BRIAR lie in divine principles and Egyptian Vowels, but one listen through the debut from the new outfit brings to mind less looming and certainly less celestial influences. Aeterna Memoria immediately brings to mind the winding roads and twined harmonies of the English route of psychedelic folk. The record dips in slowly, acclimating to the rain-drenched atmospheres, tipping a bit towards modern folk on “Between the Air and Sky;” but it’s not long before the band ducks under the hedgerow to find footings with Trees, Fairport, Incredible String Band, and Pentangle. The latter feels like the compass rose to the band’s sound, though they never quite capture the consummate mix of jazz and folk that drew listeners down gaslit streets and dark alleys in Jansch and Renbourn’s prime. They brush against the same surfaces, though, and as Autumn descends, it feels like BRIAR might become a constant companion.

Romano’s a pop chameleon, as his vast catalog would attest, and here he slips on the overcast pluck and hearthlight harmonies with an easy charm. It’s a record that feels studied, yet never forced. The aqueous ramble on “Silver,” the pastoral loneliness of “Tomorrow I Will Make It So,” the trad folk fibers of “Whir Upon the Wheel” all build the record into something classic and comforting. Adding to the creased, ringworn vision, the record ducked out of a pristine studio vision, instead favoring an eight track cassette machine fitted with a Royer 121 and a Sennheiser 409. The live room aesthetics give this something of a private press atmosphere, a slight flicker of hiss in the background and a live-to-tape intimacy that lets the record breathe, billow, and blacken the sky with the heat and haze from its embers. The record has slipped out rather quietly, but don’t let this get lost in the late ’26 wave of records, it’s one of Romano’s most enigmatic alter egos.

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