Echo Delay just released their debut album The Second Bardo on 02/12/2025. This release stands out as an experimental psychedelic record with trippy vibes and a poeticized narrative based on Timothy Leary’s “The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead.”
This album works with a sitar and 12-string guitar instrumentation with washed-out production and was produced with a fuzz effect. This builds into a sound that delivers both a sense of dreaminess and introspection. The atmosphere that the overall production value brings to this album is perfect for the subject matter and seemingly cryptic lyrical text. Additionally, the mix works well with the stereo to turn the overall album into an experience. The way things rest in or shift around the front and left does a great job of pulling attention toward it.
Overall, this album comes in two main parts with an interlude in between. The first part of the album includes the tracks “Retinal Circus,” “A Moment Of Joy,” and “Moon Queen.”
“Retinal Circus” is a wonderful introduction to the overall sound with a dynamic mix, introducing unique vocal layering, a pulse and flow in the instrumentation, a tad of dissonance, and a shoegazey haze over things. It stands out, as there’s a bit more energy than some other tracks in the album, serving as a great first hit. Lyrically, it’s welcoming listeners to an experience or voyage without fear, one in which the senses blend together to create a dream-like state.
Then there are “A Moment of Joy,” and “Moon Queen.” These tracks play on the establishment of the first with similar production styles and a focus on string instrumentation. The first of these two tracks stands out uniquely, especially in its mix, playing different sounds on different sides of the stereo in a way that stimulates the brain. The latter has a bit more of a focus on percussion in its sound, and it adds a cut with distinct dynamics in its rhythm.
Lyrically, “A Moment of Joy’ delves into an invitation for listeners to feel a moment of joy while “Feeling sharp with your faith / This pure flow along the veins.” It asks listeners to meet their ego and join in healing to find their path when it feels like sanity is lost. Then, “Moon Queen” introduces a moon queen that came to the voice of a track in a vision, and said voice says “Please my friend / Take my hand / Take me out / From this wonderland.” Based on the subject matter, this could reference death and finding peace in it with others.
Then there’s the interlude, “Pulsing of Nowhere.” This has airy synths and a buzzy wispy overtone that sounds like a woodwind. It feels like a spiritual instrumental experience, giving listeners time to feel out and understand the meaning hidden in the lyrics prior and preparing them for the rest of the album.
The final portion of “The Second Bardo” is comprised of four singles. These are “Lost Door,” Time,” “Call The Doc,” and “The Gate.”
“The Lost Door,” has more of a bright chimey sound than anything heard before on the album, with a tambourine sound driving along the beat, and some of the instrumentals sounding almost like extra voices in the background. Then, “Time” makes great use of pacing, as the instrumentation grows throughout. The bass is great in this track, giving a nice bounce to things.
The lyrics of “The Lost Door,” explore fears of the unknown and loss of control as the voice searches for a lost door, and it utilizes imagery such as, “Colors are flashing into a rainbow.
Magical forests and fire images.” It expresses that the time has come and asks for a hand to be held. Then there’s a fleeting sensation in the lyrics of “Time,” as they express how time flies, talk about how “dreams can be real” and a fight of the soul, and get into a decision of a star in which one will ride.
After these two comes the final two tracks, “Call The Doc,” and “The Gate,” which do well at wrapping things up. “Call The Doc,” has instrumentation in the left ear that has an up-and-down bend with buzziness to it, and the right ear has a bit of a growly sound in its guitar, there’s an inclusion of a phone off the line at one point, which adds to the experience well, and there are organ sounds which seem to play into the concepts of death that are explored. “The Door” then plays with an instrumental build based on a captivating drum hook. Additionally, a tambourine sound and shakers bring a bit of brightness to round out the sound.
“Call The Doc” once again gets into the concept of death while exploring the roboticism that can be seen in how humans interact with the world. It gets into the idea of waking up from delusion and finding harmony through being welcome to the earth to be with all beings. “The Gate,” then, is a track of acceptance. A section of it talks about a gate vanishing the primary voice of the track away, and a verse states, “This’s the state, / Of perfect peace. / Don’t push away, / This magic, mate.” These lyrics key into one thing, which may be the main point of the story it tells; when death comes, don’t be scared, accept it for what it is and find peace in it.
Overall, this album uses psychedelic influences in a way that harkens back to conceptual pieces in the 70s. As mentioned earlier, it’s more than just a collection of music, it’s an experience. The music ebbs and flows in a way that’s cohesive but at times is captivatingly dissonant. It’s a piece that makes you think, and though it explores concepts of death, it does so in a poetic and visual way. It gives a lot for the brain to cook on and process, and due to the way that it strays from being to the point, there’s a lot of replay value. When the music and lyrics are put together, it’s one of those projects that sends the brain into the atmosphere. The literary work it’s based on gives a key into what it’s about, the acceptance and peace that can be found in death.
The Second Bardo is the first project released by Echo Delay, and it stands out as a powerful start with a deep understanding of conceptualization. This musical project comes from the mind of the Italian Copenhagen, Denmark-based artist Roberto. His music is full of color and life, but it also gives a washed-out stylization in how things are produced. This is supposed to be more than music, it’s meant to bring listeners into a new world. With such a strong start, who knows where things could go from here?
Written by Sage Plapp
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