“The Azure King” is an introspective, hypnotic success from Rory McBride. Hazy acoustic guitar pulses accompany a contemplative vocal presence to start, as a warming bass-laden embrace drives into a striking title-referencing vocal sequence. This spoken-word feeling here proves meditative and packed with mystique. “The Azure King” engrosses with its momentum and sporadic pauses, particularly in the spacious rhythm-fronted build past the first minute.
Raised in rural Illinois, McBride spent the pandemic embracing nature, devoting time to writing poetry and reading; much of his time was spent in southwest Wisconsin during this period. 2022 saw McBride start recording with engineer/producer Ryan Ordway in Maine. The Sonic Lullaby EP came from that process, resulting in three resonating tracks, including “The Azure King.” McBride’s atmospheric, climactic sound stirs here and throughout.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of June 2023’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
