Euphoria Station: Smoking Gun

The music on this album is not what normally gets reviewed on SoT. This is not metal or hard rock. It’s also not prog as we generally think of it, though you will find some prog-like moments sprinkled throughout. What we have here can primarily be classed under that imprecise but yet still useful term “Americana,� with a distinctly country and western twist. But it has more complex arrangements than you often hear from bands put in that category.

Euphoria Station is technically a two-piece, with Saskia Kraft van Ermel providing lyrics and vocals and Hoyt Binder on guitars. There are a number of skillful guest musicians on the album, though, who add a lot. For instance, Rebecca Kleinmann provides amazing flute on the cover of “Take the Highway� by the Marshall Tucker Band, who Saskia (she seems to go by her first name) says was a big influence on her when she was young.

Saskia has a nice voice. The problem is that it seems like she doesn’t use it that much. I don’t know where she’s from, but the twang that dominates most of her singing seems affected. I found it much more enjoyable when she sang in what seems like might be her more natural voice, something like Natalie Merchant minus the amazing range. The album is also too long, 13 tracks taking up more than an hour. There’s good stuff on here, including one of the three instrumentals, “Dusty Roads,� but I’d wager not enough to keep most people’s attention.

I like this style of music (The Band is one of my 20 favorite groups) when it’s done well. But Smoking Gun misses the mark too often for me to give it more than a lukewarm recommendation.

Track Listing
1. Amazing Grace (In Memory Of...) (1:27)
2. Take the Highway (6:46)
3. Smoking Gun (6:19)
4. Nowhere Junction (5:23)
5. Off the Beaten Path (4:40)
6. My Mistake (4:21)
7. The Ballad of Grace Malloy (3:16)
8. Carolina on My Mind (4:31)
9. Sweep Me Away (5:54)
10. Here with You (4:07)
11. Living for Today (5:33)
12. Dusty Roads (5:26)
13. November Came Early (5:35)

Added: June 9th 2025
Reviewer: Aaron Steelman
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 401
Language: english

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