Climbo or The Mistakes That Make Us by Solemn Golem: Review

by Gabe Finch September 16, 2022

September 16, 2022

Climbo or The Mistakes That Make Us by Solemn Golem: Review

Finnish singer-songwriter Pyry Urhonen is solemn yet therapeutic in his debut 10-track album Climbo or The Mistakes That Make Us. It’s an hour’s worth of listen, leaving us with a glimpse of Solemn Golem’s eclectic vision and grandeur. Between sweeping ambient noises and potentially overwhelming close-up details, the album captures the hollowness of Zen philosophy with a hypnotic quality. The artist poured genres of post-rock, folk-prog, and alternative rock into his introspective songs.

The musical creation is filled with the groundwork of bass, drums, well-put mellotrons, strings, synthesizers, and piano. There are gorgeous and crisp tones of a semi-hollow, western-style acoustics, an 8-string strat-style guitar, and a trusty 5-string Neuser bass to amp up the excitement.

From the opening piano chords of “Close Your Eyes,” you know you’re in for an exciting journey. Next up is “Try to Picture Nothing,” a tune that combines the gloom of the north with the introspective floating guitar solo that ushers in “Are We Dreaming?”. Urhonen infused “I Wonder” with acoustic folk rock in slow motion, and “Promenade” with organ and clean guitar, both featuring subtle percussion fills that add to the song’s chill atmosphere.

Beginning slowly and meditatively with a space reverb sound, “Honeymoon” speeds up with a drum solo. “Blight’s” complex bass pattern illustrates audio space. The dark, Gregorian-style chanting of the singer evokes a Gothic mood. In the end, “Gatekeeper” features a folk chorus that stretches the boundaries of the record to demonstrate that there is hope on the other side of the tunnel.