Review: Djiin ‘Mirrors’

If you are a fan of psychedelic stoner rock that is mixed with a touch of 70’s prog and has added elements of early Sabbath-esque riffs, then in all likelihood you will already know of Djiin, and will have been eagerly awaiting the release of Mirrors, the fourth full-length album from the French psychedelic/prog rock quartet

It sees them further honing their exciting and powerful blend of music with added twists throughout the five songs. It’s a meandering piece of music from start to finish, songs like the title track, Mirrors, which allows you to get totally immersed and lost in a world of your own.

The band consist of Chloe Panhaleyx on vocals and electric harp, Allan Guyomard on drums and backing vocals, Tom Penaguin on guitar and backing vocals and Charlelie Pailhas on bass and backing vocals, and on this album, they’ve developed further with powerful fuzzy riffs, twisted beats, psychedelic melodies and vocal incantations that invites listeners along on their magical journey. Some might say the music is hedonistic in parts, and with songs like In The Aura Of My Own Sadness they’ve written an almost ten-minute epic piece of music that is an audible pleasure.

powerful fuzzy riffs, twisted beats, psychedelic melodies and vocal incantations that invites listeners along on their magical journey…

But I think it’s with Blind that they really come into their own as it’s a song of crazy complexity with a cacophony of different sounds. It’s a gentle beginning with a stomping beat and a whispered spoken vocal that leads to a massive crescendo of noise and chaos that will wake you up, before it meanders back to its original style that hits you once again like a punch taking your breath away.

Then at the midway point, the track takes a different turn, dreamy and relaxing with one or two gentle notes being dropped like raindrops dripping on a tile, and before you know it, they deliver the knockout punch with a series of high pitched ear splitting notes. A track that is hard to define, but so, so, so enjoyable to listen to.

They finish with the thirteen-minute masterpiece that is Iron Monsters, a behemoth of a track that proves they are not just your average rock act, but one who have real depth to their songwriting and musicianship. Not many bands can incorporate an electric harp into their music, but Panhaleyx does this with great aplomb which adds a unique and surprising sonority accentuating the band’s mystic and ritualistic universe.

Label: Klonosphere Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Matthew Williams