The latest single from Fermata Caesura is dark and grand, meaningful and densely poetic, smart and unpredictable.
The Baltimore-based Fermata Caesura is a group of intelligent admirers of music, and subsequently, intelligent musicians themselves. With a wide roster of influences, including things that are as further apart as Radiohead and Iron and Wine, their sound ends up as richly acoustic and densely poetic as that of Iron and Wine, while being as mystical and volatile as that of the legendary Radiohead. Others like Damien Rice, Bon Iver, and Agnes Obel make the list of influences. So, it’s not a great surprise that their music sounds like a delicious mix of all those colliding colors.
Empty promises is a somber acoustic piece about an inevitable end of a relationship, delivered with a dark, menacing soundscape that’s accessible and rich for the most part, while surprising and bold during a sudden shift into a modulated bridge that’s immaculately written. The orchestration and utilization of the cello are masterful and the layering of it is lush and stunning. A vocally restrained song in general, the outro features dazzling belted phrases courtesy of Lisa, the singer, showing mature control in keeping her massive talent at bay until the moment is perfectly calling for it. The aforementioned bridge section shows an incredible songwriting talent in an outwardly, vividly colored left turn that’s sudden, refreshing, and vastly rewarding.
There’s not much to be critical of in Fermata Caesura’s latest single. A Group of professionals, bringing their best collective chops to the table, in the form of a dark piece of well-written, and well-thought-out piece of music. Instrumentally and lyrically adept, Fermata Caesura’s Empty Promises is a serene, somber, and dark, gem.