image courtesy of Rock Rose Music

by Eric Harabadian, Contributing Blogger

Album Review of Euphoria Station: Smoking Gun (Reverie Suite Records)

Saskia Kraft van Ermel and Hoyt Binder are vocalist and guitarist, respectively, for the critically acclaimed project and band known as Euphoria Station. Their musical roots are firmly planted in Southern rock and outfits like The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers Band , The Outlaws, and, even, Kansas. In fact, they pay homage to Marshall Tucker by covering the band’s signature “Take the Highway.”

photo courtesy of Rock Rose Music

Kraft van Ermal and Binder are joined on this album by such guest heavy hitters as drummer Toss Panos (Robben Ford) and bassist Jorgen Carlsson (Gov’t Mule), along with the usual suspects Ronald van Deurzen on keyboards, Rebecca Kleinmann on flute and Tollak Ollestad on harmonica. The result is an album that is ultra intense. It’s a confluence of melodic vocals, screaming guitars, progressive rhythms and a unique mix of Americana flavors and epic soundscapes and themes.

photo courtesy of Rock Rose Music

Kraft van Ermel has a very distinctive vocal presence that blends poetry, melody, and a spiritual centeredness. As a counterpart, Binder is a whirlwind of a guitarist who reaches for the almost impossible note or phrase to either stun your senses or transport you to another stratosphere.

Songs like “Smoking Gun,” “Off the Beaten Path,” and “Here with You” bristle with an energy that is at once infectious and soothing. The lyrics are whimsical, mystical, and engaging while the music is impeccably arranged, yet grounded and organic.

“My Mistake” and “Sweep Me Away” are powerful in the way they shift moods and motifs from ebullient and declarative to radio-friendly power pop. Perhaps “Living for Today” sort of typifies the genius of the Euphoria Station sound in that they are able to synthesize odd time signatures, dense orchestration, beautiful stacked vocals and sophisticated chord sequences into a single bound.

photo courtesy of Rock Rose Music

Kraft van Ermel and Binder’s production is ambitious and all-encompassing. It will set the listener squarely in the driver’s seat. And that’s a good place to be. It’s a wild ride that should be familiar to many classic rock and blues-rock fans, while standing alone in its own space and time.