Wisconsin-based band The Star Prairie Project show a stirring rock sound on their seventh studio album, The Shining Ones. Anthemic, expansive productions with stadium-sized guitars and symphonic touches combine with an intriguing conceptual emphasis. The album is titled after “the antediluvian secret priesthood known as the ‘Shining Ones.;”
“Dawnlight of the Gods” opens the album with a spacious momentum; trickling guitars and blaring textures craft a contemplative serenity, invoking visions of a sunrise. Haunting, wordless vocals emerge thereafter, They continue with fervent captivation alongside roaring guitars, into the crisper rock/pop arsenal within “Oh Ye Shining Ones.” A theatrical vocal rousing converges with electrifying guitar tones and excitable synth flourishes. The opening two tracks showcase the project’s capabilities for both atmospheric immersion and rock-friendly immediacy.
The 13-track album boasts a number of highlights beyond, including the impassioned rocker “My Kundalini.” The invigorating vocal soaring channels a hard-rocking charisma into a meditative, mystique-filled middle sequence; the charismatic rock sound compels throughout, and switches up just at the right time. “Trying to Climb the Tower” is another standout, with multiple vocal convergences aligning with rousing strings and gripping guitars for a replay-inducing allure. The Shining Ones is an impressive overall showing from The Star Prairie Project.
Group leader Nolen Chew Jr. elaborates further:
”The new album is about these shamanic priests who existed on earth with the Homo Sapiens in the ancient times, and who, after the flood and the sinking of Atlantis, spread out across the earth. They went to Mesopotamia, Egypt, Mesoamerica, Hindu Valley and the Japanese islands to assist mankind in survival by their secret teachings.”
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
