We Speak Music
Time Stops and Songs Begin: Mikel Rafael’s The Eternal Hour
Some music feels like it’s made for driving with the windows down. The Eternal Hour isn’t that kind of record. Mikel Rafael’s debut EP is made for sitting still—really still—and letting yourself feel. Not in a heavy, sob-into-your-pillow way, but in a “the wind just reminded me of someone I used to be” way. Poetic, poignant, and piercingly human.
From the first note of “Maples and Pines,” it’s clear Rafael doesn’t write songs—he weaves spells. His guitar is delicate but deliberate, and his voice carries the kind of vulnerability you can’t fake. The track feels like morning light on old wood: warm, gentle, and somehow holy.
“The Stream” feels like you’ve wandered too far into a dream and now must follow the river out. It’s melancholic but not bleak, romantic but not naive. Rafael sings like he’s holding something precious in his hands, afraid it might break—or vanish entirely. It’s folk, yes, but folk by way of literature and lore.
By the time “Rise Into The Gentle Night” unfolds, you’re not just listening—you’re floating. This is the kind of song that makes you want to write letters you’ll never send, or walk into the woods without looking back. There’s something sacred in its restraint, in its refusal to rush the inevitable.
Mikel Rafael doesn’t need a full album to make a statement. With just three tracks, The Eternal Hour says what many artists take years to learn: sometimes the quietest music hits the loudest. And sometimes, it’s the space between the notes that leaves the deepest echo.
It is easy to see why a songwriter might be drawn to a story like this. Relationships rarely finish as neatly as people would like, and the space between “it is over” and “maybe we should try again” can produce plenty of material. For Dysmusia, that space becomes the setting for latest single “In your eyes”, out now through Now Listen.
The Irish singer-songwriter has a knack for keeping his writing close to everyday life, and this track benefits from that approach. He looks at an old relationship that has already gone through several attempts at making things work, then focuses on what happens when those feelings start creeping back in.
What makes the song appealing is the balance between sincerity and a lighter touch. Dysmusia is clearly invested in the situation, but he does not turn every moment into a grand declaration. There is room for a bit of humour and hesitation along the way, which keeps the song feeling natural.
The arrangement gives the song a pleasing lift. Acoustic guitar sits at the heart of it, with the dropped tuning adding some richness and a second guitar bringing extra colour. The result has folk at its core but carries enough indie-rock influence to give it a little extra punch.
Dysmusia’s Irish background is another part of the picture. Based between Antrim and Dublin and coming from a musical family, he has developed a style that puts storytelling alongside contemporary guitar sounds.
“In your eyes” brings those influences together without making a fuss about them. It is a personable, melodic track about feelings that refuse to follow a neat timetable, delivered with enough warmth to make the story easy to get behind.
-
We Speak Music1 week ago
NP York releases powerful new indie single ‘As bold as a heart’!
-
We Speak Hip-Hop1 week agoOmen44’s “Land of Plenty” Delivers Substance in a World Full of Noise (Video)
-
We Speak Music1 week ago
Wes Banderson celebrate the music of Wes Anderson films with four special UK shows this September!
-
We Speak Hip-Hop1 week agoChuck Platinum Continues Building His Legacy With Beats in the Attic Volume 4