Stories From Before Dawn – Byorn Gold (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Byorn Gold has never been someone who makes music without it being part of a bigger picture. In the past, he has given us a series of releases based on nostalgic reflections about personal growth. Most recently, he gave us a series of releases that charted his thoughts and feelings as a parent. As always, those EP-length releases also become the constituent parts of a full-length album.

This time out, he finds his inspiration in films, specifically those featuring characters who are less defined by words like good and evil, protagonist and antagonist, and who seem to incorporate something of both sides. In short, “borderline” characters who reflect the same moral complexities as actual, everyday people do.

Any song or piece of music designed to go hand in hand with a film is always going to have a cinematic quality to it, and on the sonic side, this is what Byorn Gold now explores in much greater detail than ever before. The album’s first offering, “Original Sun,” kicks off in such a way that you are transferred right into the movie theater with full sound, a deep bass, and those “cinema strings”. Inspired by the movie “Before Sunrise” (1995), the first installment of the “Before” trilogy, it is a sweeping affair, a deftly played acoustic guitar piece nestled in ornate and grand strings, filmic, delicate, and serene – perfect for a film based on matters of the heart.

Also inspired by Richard Linklater’s gorgeous and gracious film is “That’s How It Could Be,” which follows. Equally as romantic, equally as cinematic, it balances understatement with heavenly sonics, a song about those memorable moments in time that seem perfect, moments that you never want to end – the embodiment of what could become love.

“Book of Life” finds inspiration in a very different type of film – “Coco (2017)” It may be a Pixar animation, but the central themes are as real and relatable as life itself. As the song says, “Everyone has a story to tell,” and the simple theme of the film is found at the core of the song – follow your dreams! It is a gentle, piano-led ballad, but again, it is the contrast of the simple notes of the keyboard against the sonic washes of the strings, the shimmering rolls of percussion, and the breathtaking brass that creates a sonic world for the story to exist in.

“You Are Free” has a less specific starting point, but takes a theme common to plenty of Disney films, and which is perhaps the oldest type of story ever told. The idea of the hero’s journey is as well established as storytelling itself, coming to us from ancient plays, classical theatre, and even older campfire narratives. Here, things take a more subdued and balladic turn, as soulful as what has gone before but more direct and less sonically adorned, a clever move; after a suite of big songs, it is to the less-is-more that Byorn Gold looks to sign this EP off, largely speaking.

As always, the songs here are deep and meaningful; they say as much about our lives as they do that of the composer, and as always, they are an intriguing first step in a gorgeous musical journey that we will spend the next few months pursuing in the footsteps of this masterful musician.