Saudi-based rock group, Songs of Petrichor, are on something of a hot streak. In the run-up to their eponymous debut album, the three-man band have, in the space of three singles, shown a musical dexterity that is uncommon in the fragmented rock scene in the Middle East, none more so than their latest, ‘Drizzle’.
April-released single, 'Nomad', brought together Oriental grunge and progressive rock, while July's 'She's in Black' saw the group take a turn for the psychedelic. This time round? Well, Shaharyar, Yousuf and Omair have gone all out with a track that they describe as “almost progressive rock, with strong elements of folk music vocals.”
It's quite a departure from their previous two singles and is essentially divided up into three sections, with folk rock and melodic metal rearing their heads. Lyrically, the track touches on the concepts of memories and nostalgia, which it wraps in a wistful tone.“The idea of ‘drizzle’ is that after a light rain or drizzle, the smell of rain reminds the narrator and keeps him nostalgic until he takes another sip of ‘coffee’ to come back to the present,” the band explains. “The song is basically about experiencing nostalgia and the flow of memories and the emotions towards them induced by a nice, light drizzle and a change in weather. It’s a play of deliberately incomplete bits and pieces of actual memories and nostalgia and the narrator’s current emotions towards them.”
It all comes together to paint a very pleasing picture of the album, which is set to be released on the increasingly prolific Jeddah-based Wall of Sounds, a label that has been in overdrive in recent months, working with everyone from Jordan's Idreesi to Egypt's El Waili. What the future holds for Songs of Petrichor is yet to be seen, but the three tastes of the album so far suggest good things are ahead.
