Though
Ex Reverie
is the band name to which this album is billed, it's very much dominated by singer/songwriter
Gillian Chadwick
, who wrote all the songs in addition to playing numerous instruments. In some ways,
The Door into Summer
fits into the indie acid-folk-rock scene of the time around which it was released (2008), with its sad melodies, wistful melancholy lyrics flush with natural imagery suggestive of a slightly alternative reality, and use of strings, flute, dulcimer, and bells. In some other ways, however, it deviates from the usual path of such efforts, with periodic swathes of thundering hard rock passages with electric guitars.
Chadwick
's vocal delivery has a stern regal cast reminiscent of some of the women who sang in psychedelic rock outfits of the late '60s and early '70s, with very slight traces of the likes of
Grace Slick
and
Melanie
audible from time to time. Those harder rocking influences make this stand out from some of the similar albums of its time, but
are nonetheless more attractive when they go for folkier moods, as they do on the closing
"Cedar, Pt. 2."
Overall, it's an occasionally haunting but somewhat grim record, like a late autumn in which the eventual onset of spring is not expected. ~ Richie Unterberger