I can still remember listening to Tristan Whitehill’s earliest Euglossine experiments on the inimitable Housecraft label and being immediately drawn to his unique sound design and how the smallest details came together to create woozy tropical worlds. In the intervening decade, Whitehill’s palette has grown and his approach augmented, but the kaleidoscopic vision that always seemed to center his work has only become more refined.
Some Kind of Forever is the first kiss of spring fueled by the visceral intensity of new love sparking midnight grooves for yesterday. Opener “Streaming” flickers with an effortless delicacy across fluttering piano arrangements and an emotive guitar lead plucked from another time. Throughout Some Kind of Forever, Whitehill channels late 70s ECM, early electronics, and a hint of soft rock madness, fusing each motif together like a slipstream wizard. Connected by heady bass lines and featherweight rhythms, “Temporal Logistics” pulls the whimsy of “Streaming” onto a space-bound dancefloor, riding piano chords and lilting guitar passages into a place where we can become stardust.
Throughout Some Kind of Forever, it seems unthinkable that Euglossine is a solo project. Whitehill goes polymath in the way each instrument’s sound carries distinct personalities and approaches so that it always feels like there’s a full, sprawling band jamming out the back of the van. Brtifolk wooziness kicks into gear on “Grandfather Clock” with woodwinds singing salutations to tomorrow’s sunrise over a sea of floral-infused acoustics. It is an absolute romp. Flutes and gritty guitar chords turn “Flowers in the Wind” into a transcendent fusion romp steeped in soulful effervescence. Some Kind of Forever is a long, twisting narrative, but each song is a purposeful step on the ride.
Space waves add layers of glimmer to the inquisitive melodies of “Tiny Cat,” saturated with a longing for Atomic age reveries. Trumpeting upside-down fanfares from inside a metallic prism, Whitehill tricks listeners with ear candy so he can land these heavy blows. This music acts like a summer breeze spreading across rolling hills, but it all carries long discarded memories with it, bringing buried emotions back into view. We face it in the end, but not before blasts of saxophone skronk on “Mod12” or the fuzzy lament of “Satin Room.”
The title track is joyous, synths popping tabs on disco-soaked beats and drunken guitars. All the loose ends are wrapped up and receding in the mirror, marimba solos lighting our way toward a neon skyline. Summer is in the air. Sweet codas smile in the succinct fantasies of saccharine closer, “Easy.” Some Kind of Forever is seductive. Disappearing over the horizon, we say goodbye before the castles sink from the clouds. Maybe it was all just a dream?
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