Hailing from Manipur, Solace Her are an alternative rock band who perform mostly in their native language, Meiteilon. The band started their musical journey back in 2017 under the name Rohan and The Band. Their debut single, “Tamna Tamna,” was released in 2019 and is quite popular in their native state. After releasing their second single “Meetam” in 2020, Solace Her was felicitated by Ya_All for voicing the plight of the LGBT+ community in Manipur in their music video. The band consists of Rohan Thounaojam, Roger Achom, Shrikant Chingangbam, Rozer Haobam and Edwin Haorokcham.

Talking about the making of Eitadi!, Solace Her shared with us: “During the end of the pandemic in Manipur, we could not find a suitable studio to work on our debut album. We arranged for an abandoned space located in an isolated part of Imphal (East) and we worked on our album with a makeshift home studio set-up day and night for a week, without returning to our homes.”

Considering the manner in which Solace Her recorded their album, listening to the songs certainly does not give the impression of an album made in an improvised home-studio environment. The production sounds like Eitadi! was recorded in a top-tier studio with the best possible gear available. The eight-track album starts off with “Phumdi Thakta,” and it becomes clear almost immediately that Solace Her definitely meant it when they said they are very influenced by Kings of Leon. The song is catchy right from the start, with lovely melodies across the vocals, the harmonies, the guitars, the bass, and a laidback groove on the drums. “Phumdi Thakta” is a perfect opener to the album, capturing the listener’s interest from the get-go, followed by “Atiya,” another soothing track that is reminiscent of the indie rock music of the mid-2000s (Band of Horses, for example.) The song carries the listener through multitudes of quiet sections followed by emotionally charged swells effortlessly and without getting side-tracked. Eitadi! on the whole is a quieter album, with a lot more clean tones and acoustic guitars; extremely melodious in its sound. Yet there is still variety to be found on Eitadi!, like the fifth song, “Taothari,” an extremely danceable number (that even gets loud in some parts) that keeps the album-listening experience fresh for the audience. The final track, “Tamba Ngamde Meeyoi Mapok,” brings the album to a close with, not to sound cheesy, an all-out rock-out styled on the lines of one of classic rock’s greatest song endings, “Freebird,” complete with guitar solo and a fast groove.

The album is masterful from start to finish, an enjoyable experience up until the last note. It is clear that Solace Her are a band that knows exactly what they want to sound like, and already have found their sound. Eitadi! is an absolutely brilliant debut album of a band that deserves to be heard loud and clear across the board. Solace Her have physical copies of the album available on their website, and the album is expected to be out on all major streaming platforms by September. For now, there are a couple of music videos out on their YouTube channel.