Mega Bog: Dolphine

Over the past 10 years, Erin Elizabeth Birgy has manifested her musical intentions through the gentle rhythms of Mega Bog. An unrelenting multi-instrumentalist, Mega Bog’s fifth album Dolphine is a continuation on from her tradition of creating emotive art-rock projects.

Dolphine is a mix of sci-fi and pop that was recorded in upstate New York, in a concise 7-day recording session. In addition to Birgy’s own multi-instrumental talents, she mixes her own creative talents with the ideas of other arguably over talented musicians that embellish the fundamental erk-ness of Mega Bog’s music.

Starting with lilting guitar mixed with wind chimes, “For the Old World” is an unassuming 70’s track that harbours its emotions in the imagery and the power of music to recapture memory. A mix of wind section and the continuous motif, melts into a soliloquy from Birgy, soft and gentle. Like someone whispering a lullaby, it allows the track to creep up on you. An oboe heralds us back into the motif that is so nostalgically 70’s it is sound familiar and catchy. On first listen, this track seems too dated for me, but soon I realised that Mega Bog doesn’t deal in music, she deals in art.

With staccato piano jolts, “Fwee Again” is a gentle musical journey into space. The piano creates a sense of foreboding while the synth is like the vacuum of space, dragging and sucking your attention in. The space is filled with atmospheric but simple guitar brings you on a beautiful inter-galactic journey through space. With chaotic voices and non-sensical moaning, this relaxing journey turns sinister. While the music itself is incredible, with beautiful peaks and nightmares troughs, the track is definitely more of an art piece than a piece of music.

Birgy has said before that this album is a journey through her life. Dolphine has become a way to deal with loss and learning how to engage with this loss on her own personal journey. While the lyrics do this beautifully, she has an incredible way of finding and making an accurate reflection of this journey. “Diary of a Rose” and its dark introduction quickly morphs into a plod-along beat and repetitious guitar line. When both of these are paired with Mega Bog’s calm and somewhat monotonous voice, it creates a sense of the everyday mundane while also traveling at an incredible pace. While this track may not be the stand out track on the album on first listen, multiple listens are needed to really appreciate it.

Mega Bog is a force to be reckoned with. Her use of unusual motifs and honest lyrics, make this album more of an autobiography. An auto-biography that tugs at you and make you question your own journey. Dolphine is a modern musical art piece that constantly keeps giving.

Rating: 8.2/10

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