Narayan - ‘Cycles’ Song Review
Photographer: Nate Hill
There’s something quietly confronting about a song called “Cycles”.
Not in a doom-and-gloom way. Not in a melodramatic, stare-out-the-window-in-the-rain way. But in that subtle, creeping awareness that everything is moving whether you are ready or not.
Narayan’s latest single “Cycles”, taken from his upcoming EP Transcendence, doesn’t waste time trying to impress you with noise for the sake of noise. It builds. It layers. It unfolds deliberately, like someone turning pages in a journal they probably shouldn’t be letting you read.
The opening feels measured. Controlled. Clean guitar tone with precision that doesn’t feel clinical. There’s intention in every note. You can hear the progressive influence, yes, but it’s not flexing for the sake of flexing. It feels reflective. Almost philosophical.
Then the rhythm section locks in and suddenly the track has spine.
The interplay between guitar, bass and drums isn’t chaotic. It’s conversational. There’s space carved between phrases. Moments where everything pulls back just enough to let the melody sit in your chest before the next swell arrives. And when it does swell, it doesn’t explode recklessly. It expands.
There’s an arc to this track. You can feel it.
Sections rise and fall like breath. Tension tightens. Releases. Tightens again. The dynamic shifts are deliberate, not accidental. This isn’t background instrumental music. It demands attention. Not aggressively. But persistently.
The technical precision is undeniable (the guitar work is clean, articulate, controlled) yet it never loses its emotional thread. That’s the difference. It doesn’t feel like a clinic demonstration. It feels like meditation through distortion and melody.
By the midpoint, the layering thickens. The guitar lines begin to feel more urgent. Not frantic. Just heavier in intention. There’s weight there. And underneath it all, the rhythm section keeps everything grounded so it never drifts into indulgence.
The final stretch of the track feels like resolution without finality. Which is fitting, really. “Cycles” doesn’t end like a full stop. It feels more like a comma. As if the point is that nothing truly concludes. It just evolves.
Knowing the thematic inspiration revolves around memento mori and memento vivere makes sense once you sit with it. There’s awareness of mortality in the structure. But also momentum. Growth. Movement forward.
It’s progressive rock, yes. But it’s also introspective. Thoughtful. Structured. Purposeful.
“Cycles” doesn’t shout at you.
It invites you to think.
And in a genre that can sometimes get lost in technical spectacle, that restraint feels intentional.
The EP Transcendence, is set for release on Friday the 27th, so make sure you head to your favourite streaming service to pre-save it ready for the drop.
Cycles Cover Artwork by: Nate Hill
