Today marks the release of Severant‘s first two-songer EP, Closure, through Lay Bare Recordings. Based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, the four-piece posted up the 12-minute “Sunyata” late in 2019 and seem to have taken the bulk of 2020 to get themselves together — not much else to do, really — ahead of making this debut. Their sound brims with moody psychedelia, warm in tone, but earning the grayscale of their press photo above with a kind of overarching downer feel, brought to bear with a balance between clarity and natural tone by the esteemed Pieter Kloos, who produced at The Void Studio. Both “Soulsplit” (6:42) and the subsequent “Candles” (10:52) are exploratory and patient without being overly self-indulgent, the former making its resonance felt early in hypnotic guitar even as the second cut, which is ultimately the “jammier” of the two, gallops out of the gate.

Melody is key to each piece of the 17-minute sampler Severant are giving of their approach, but they’re not without rhythmic weight either. “Sousplit” works its way fluidly into a swinging second half with the drums pushing a classic-feeling drive forward as a bed for the two guitars working in plotted and winding leads — a nod that’s fun to follow with the stops along the way accessible and building to a depth of fuzz that’s not quite over the nostrils but far enough for one to get the idea of the rampant immersion the band might undertake on a subsequent full-length. Following the thrust at the beginning of “Candles,” the proceedings drop to a distinctly Floydian drift, the vocals inhabiting the space willfully created by more subdued instrumentation. The sway as they move toward the midsection solo called to mind The Devil and the Almighty Blues‘ tendency to hold a groove just to where it feels like it might fall apart before pulling it back under control, and as the bass takes hold circa seven minutes in, Severant seem to be setting up Closure for a final push, but they’re not.

In fact, they drop to quiet again and end by renewing that sway, capping “Candles” with an altogether classier and more restrained spirit. That is to say, it would’ve been easy for them to let the song simply carry itself out. That they didn’t speaks to an underlying thoughtfulness of their process that, thinking in terms of what they might do from here, bodes well.

I’m pretty sure that by the time this post goes live, both of these tracks will have been made public anyway, but whatever. I’m happy enough to feature Closure on its release day one way or the other. You’ll find “Candles” in the embed below, and “Soulsplit” on the Bandcamp player at the bottom of this post, below the release info from Lay Bare.

However you go, please enjoy:

SEVERANT, a new and talented four piece from The Netherlands, brings to life righteous psychedelic sounds by combining their love for the late 60’s and early 70’s fused with their attraction to the dark. They take influences from musical adventures such as Pink Floyd and The Devil’s Blood. Expect beautiful melodies and harmonies floating on a deep groove, contrasted with heavy guitar parts. Produced by Pieter Kloos.

Order: https://laybarerecordings.com/release/closure-lbr033

S E V E R A N T – Dark Psychedelic Rock – from The Netherlands

DEBUT EP – CLOSURE – comes in:
– 250pcs of black wax
– 10inch debut
– 350gsm Custom Die Cut Sleeve
– 250gsm Printed Innerbag
– Produced and engineered by Pieter Kloos | The Void Studio
– Cover artwork by Manuel Tinnemans | Comaworx
– Lay Out by Pieter Hendriks

Severant is:
Erik van Liempd – Vocals & Guitar
Loet Braamkolk – Guitar
Riccardo Subasi – Bass
Koen Steendijk – Drums

Severant, Closure (2021)

Severant on Thee Facebooks

Severant on Instagram

Severant on Bandcamp

Lay Bare Recordings on Thee Facebooks

Lay Bare Recordings on Instagram

Lay Bare Recordings website