Rock/Review New Laconia - Journey to the Past

Welcome to the New Laconia—a universe of sound where portals open, time bends, and stories breathe through music. Born in Ukraine, New Laconia is a progressive rock project that blends sci-fi narratives, emotional depth, and cinematic soundscapes into a seamless experience. Nothing here is accidental. Everything connects.

With “Journey to the Past,” the experimental Ukrainian project New Laconia creates a chapter in a developing audio tale rather than merely a song. The band's long story, in which The Traveler, trapped between worlds, finds himself in the ethereal Stardust Bear Bazaar, culminates with this atmospheric and profoundly reflective tune. Here, the listener joins the story's transcendental journey as memories, déjà vu, and spectral encounters all come together.

The song's musical style strikes a balance between strong experimental flourishes and a sense of nostalgia by fusing indie textures with cinematic depth. With its vast sound design, it sometimes evokes the grandeur of a movie score while maintaining the intimacy of a private journal. Rhythmic pulses, textured guitars, and layers of shimmering synths combine to provide an emotional atmosphere that is both classic and futuristic. As a result, the composition has the resonance of a memory—it is vivid but elusive, grounded in emotion rather than time.

New Laconia's rendition of the song, which is only beginning to gain popularity without any apparent reason but with unwavering conviction, is also a personal ode to their 17-year-old self. This personal storyline gives the song authenticity and makes it a global hymn for everybody who has struggled with identity, lost themselves, and come back changed.

In the end, “Journey to the Past” is more of a doorway than a single song—music meant to transport us between realms, between the selves we were and are becoming. It's a hauntingly human, cinematic, and engrossing track that stays with you long after the last note fades.