We Salute You, You and You!
We Salute You, You and You! has the scale of a large instrumental rock record, but voices play an important part in its appeal. EF mix soft singing and occasional harsher moments with guitars, piano, strings and brass. The arrangements are full, yet the songs keep enough space for their smaller details to matter.
Moments of Momentum gives the album an inviting start. Light piano notes sit within the wider sound, and the vocal layers add warmth without taking over the track. It is a short opening compared with some of what follows, but it introduces the record's balance of gentle melody and bigger emotion very well.
Wolves, Obey! brings more movement into the playing. The rhythm has a lively push, and changes in pace keep the track from settling into one mood. The strings and brass are part of that movement, rather than decoration added over the guitars. EF make the different instruments sound connected even when the music gets busy.
Hymn of... takes a broader approach, with brass helping to open out the sound. Apricity brings a different kind of richness through its strings and the voice of Johanna Smitz alongside the band. The shorter Nio and the more spacious Leuven provide useful changes of scale between the larger pieces. Those shifts give the album room to breathe.
Chambers is the most ambitious finish. Its early quiet-to-loud movement gives way to a looser section with trumpet, before a stronger beat and harsher vocals change the mood again. It is a long song, but the turns give it a clear reason to keep going. The different sounds add to the drama without losing the band underneath.
This is still music for listeners who enjoy patient arrangements and large emotional payoffs. The long songs ask for attention, and anyone wanting a direct chorus in every track may find the approach too open-ended. Within that style, though, EF offer a strong balance of shape and detail. We Salute You, You and You! is warm, carefully arranged and capable of real force when the songs call for it.
