By Jaden Reynolds
Parannoul is an artist I have a special attachment to. Back in 2021 when his sophomore album To See the Next Part of the Dream was released, I was in a pretty rough spot. The main subject of the album is hopelessness, it’s safe to say it really connected with me at the time. I’d even go as far as to say that it’s one of my favorite first listening experiences ever. With all that taken into account, I was beyond excited when I heard about the release of his next full-length solo album, After the Magic.
This album is incredible. The time in between this album and the last was only two years but the artistic progression Parannoul has had compared to his last release is something I’ve never seen before. While To See the Next Part of the Dream feels messy and amateur, everything on After the Sun feels meticulously placed.
The opening track, Polaris, is the biggest highlight of the record, sounding simple enough to start and then exploding in the listener’s ear. He takes the shoegaze elements of the last record, refines them, and adds layers of synths to create a more refined sound. We Shine at Night is another highlight, at first sounding like something that could fit into any other shoegaze record but then closing with this orchestral experience, unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Every track has its own personality that separates it from the rest while still being cohesive with the rest of the album.
Overall, I believe this album is the perfect next step Parannoul needed to take to advance his sound. Everything here puts his talent and skill on full display. I’m so excited to see what he does next and you should be too.
Rated eight out of ten.
Editor’s note: Normally we include artist images in these reviews, but Parannoul is and anonymous artist.