List noteThe album where Autumn's Grey Solace really found their sound. It is unlike anything else in the genre both concept-wise and sound-wise. Most of the songs are pure glossolalia, and the harmonies between the guitars and the vocals are gorgeous. Some songs are very emotional and expressive, like Halfway Underground (one of the few songs with audible lyrics) and Gondwanaland. Some songs I would dare call progressive, featuring very engaging and satisfying flows (Unfamiliar Spirits is a standout in this aspect). This album works beautifully as a whole, and the songs hold up on their own. Eifelian is peak Autumn's Grey Solace and ethereal wave.
List noteThe beloved debut which gained a lot of traction during the '20s, owing to songs like Lost and Forgotten, Fossilized, Archaic blowing up on TikTok. The popularity is well-deserved, as this album has a lot of youthful passion that is difficult to replicate. The atmosphere is perfectly fairy-like, magical and captivates you from the first notes of Resonant Dusk. The vocals are high-pitched, dramatic and emotional, the bass gives this a strong goth vibe, while the guitars (mostly jangly but some are more electronically processed) are minimalistic yet complement Erin's vocals, creating a sort of duet. When I first heard this album, I was amazed by its quality and engrossed in its atmosphere. Its underground status surprised me a lot at the time, but now this album is much better known. A great entry point to AGS, ethereal wave or even goth music as a whole for people from a dream pop or folk background, or simply folks looking for something that will make them nostalgic for their youth, when the world felt mystical and lush.
List noteThis is when the sound of Autumn's Grey Solace began to truly evolve, incorporating more electric guitar and scaling down the folky and acoustic elements, although they are still present on some of the songs that lean more on the dream pop side (like Cloudburst or Outlive). A decent number of songs feature melancholic melodrama, like the rainy-sounding Dormant, Sorrow Ashes with its soaring duet between Erin's vocals and Scott's guitars, A Tangle of Scars with its very aquatic, echoey and depressive sound. This is also the first time Autumn's Grey Solace experimented with outright gothic rock, with the song The Unshakable Demon having background guitars sounding like a harpsichord (a very cool effect) and quite dramatic vocals and lyrics. A portion of the album is calm and atmospheric, like the opener Human Shell and closer Inward Bound. Overall this is a great album for a rainy day, providing a relaxing, calm, moderately melancholic vibe.
List noteThis is the most goth Autumn's Grey Solace album both in terms of sound and atmosphere. The cover art is very 00's and often mocked for being garish, overprocessed and melodramatic, but I love it and it suits the music perfectly. It definitely caught my attention when I first explored the band's discography. The album itself deceptively starts with romantic dream pop track Endlessly, but quickly shows its true colours with songs that feature driving basslines, heavily processed shrieking guitars, emotional and soaring vocals. This is among the noisiest Autumn's Grey Solace albums, but definitely in the gothic rock vein instead of the shoegaze one. Songs like The Moon Nocturnal and A Rhythm That Writhes lean into the harder-edged goth sound (especially the latter one) and the gothic tropes. Some people do not like this album because it represents a departure from the general sound of the band, and I assume they are mostly into dream pop.
The variety displayed here is impressive too — apart from the stereotypical gothic songs you have poppier dream pop tracks like Endlessly and Sea of Honesty, the first completely glossolalic AGS track in the closer Angelspeak, a noisier emotional tune in Immortal Muse, and an atmospheric aquatic number with siren-like vocals in Into The Stream. I listen to this album very often because it represents the qualities that made me fall for goth music in general. The sound is just in general very lush and engrossing, the guitars are simply perfect for this kind of music. AGS mostly departed from this sound starting with Eifelian, but if they ever wish to explore it again, I'll be very happy!
List noteMostly similar to Within The Depths Of A Darkened Forest, which is a great thing, but longer and a bit more varied. Erin's vocals are somewhat subdued and hushed here compared to the other albums (with a few exceptions like Fractured), but are still sweet and melancholic. The instrumentation is more ambitious and noisier during the first 4 songs, after which it becomes more minimalistic and almost folky. A very pleasant album but definitely feels transitional, sandwiched between the debut and Riverine, each of which had a clearer direction than Over The Ocean.
List noteShades Of Grey is the most experimental and eclectic Autumn's Grey Solace album, and among the noisiest ones along with Ablaze. While Ablaze is firmly in the goth camp, Shades Of Grey features a number of dream pop tracks like Fodderwing and The Cell and one of the few examples of actual shoegaze in Angel Of Light, which is an extremely gorgeous song with very emotional vocals. They also continued experimenting with goth tropes on songs like Cold Sea (which has a somewhat alternative/hard rock edge but with a very dark aesthetic, making it similar to some of the harder-edged second-wave gothic rock bands like Miazma), Last Tear (very melodramatic vocals and shrieking guitars throughout the whole song) and In The Darkest Night (the ending especially has some of the same harder-edged dark gothic hard rock energy).
The soft, calm and emotional side is still present via songs like Still and Edge Of The World, while Treasure Box and Fodderwing provide material for dream pop enjoyers, sounding similar to Blue Bell Knoll–era Cocteau Twins. I rate individual songs from this album quite highly, but as a whole it feels somewhat eclectic and unfocused, probably explaining why it's not very popular among Autumn's Grey Solace fans compared to some of the other releases. It might not have strong appeal to either goth or dream pop/shoegaze enjoyers, but it has a lot to offer to hardcore AGS enjoyers.
List noteMany fans seem to think this is where AGS became less creative and settled into a samey sound, but I completely disagree with that notion. While this album is less experimental than Divinian, it wins me over with its lush sound, magical/fairytale-like/angelic atmosphere which reminds me of their amazing debut. It has somewhat of a uniform sound, but it's so gorgeous I can't complain about that. This is the first album of theirs that uses purely Anglo-Saxon song titles, and the vocals are a mix of English, Old English and glossolalia. The progressive quality is still somewhat present here, with the title track being the best example (what a gorgeous start and finish!). Other standout tracks include the extremely angelic Árænan and dark, sad Hryre. This may not be the most innovative AGS album, but I find myself relistening to it quite often, so I can't rank it any lower.
List noteThis album feels like something of a continuation of Eifelian, but this time by slightly different means. The guitars take a backseat, giving the spotlight to multiple layers of Erin's vocals that sound heavenly (hence the album title). While this is definitely a unique and experimental album, and I admire the way the vocals were used here, the comparative lack of guitars brings it down somewhat for me, and I simply vibe with Eifelian's theme better. Nevertheless, it's still a great album that I enjoy relistening to, and it's the last truly experimental album that AGS put out.
List noteThe latest album brings no surprises sonically, but the aesthetic of the cover art, the video clip for the title track and the morbidity of the lyrics are definitely a departure from what people expect from AGS. I definitely appreciate and enjoy this theme, although I wish the sound was a little bit darker to fit better with the chosen vibe. Nevertheless, I enjoy all the songs here and can name several standouts. Silver Linings is an emotional, bright but sad track that reminds somewhat of Riverine era, Sinking Inside is a borderline gothic rock track with dramatic lyrics, strong bassline and a guitar hook that surprisingly makes me think of the Sisters of Mercy, Hand Stretched Skies provides some epic religious energy, while Here On Earth brings back the magical fairy tale vibe of Within The Depths Of A Darkened Forest and Monajjfyllen (and some impressive glossolalia too for the people missing it). It doesn't have a track on the level of So Far Away from the preceding The Dark Space, but as a whole I enjoyed this record more.
List noteThis is probably the most vocally fascinating Autumn's Grey Solace album. The glossolalic vocals perform impressive acrobatics which bring the best of the Cocteau Twins to my mind. Some of the songs have a darker and more menacing vibe, like the opener Geþuxian. The instrumentation is gorgeous as always. A great album that is only brought down by a certain fatigue with wordless singing (this is the 5th such album in a row). I definitely appreciate this sound and would like Autumn's Grey Solace to return to it one day, but by this time most fans were likely missing the more emotional and lyrical aspect of AGS's music.
