Euphoria Station - Smoking Gun (2025)

In 2015, vocalist Saskia Kraft van Emel and guitarist Hoyt Binder joined together in Los Angeles to form Euphoria Station. The two had played together as a duo for some time previously before deciding to shift into a full band. A shared passion for music regardless of genre that provides hooks evoking America in all its beauty and fans of the progressive 1960’s sound and the eclectic 1970’s rock, the two developed a sound they describe as “a blend of Americana and rock with progressive tinges”. They further describe their musical direction as “musical passages, roads and stations that nod to rock heroes of yesteryear with a story tempered by heart, dreams and euphoria”.

Their debut album, One Heart, was released in 2017. The song mixture had lyrics about past experiences, love, and a passion for life. Their second album, The Reverie Suite, released in 2019 was a concept album based on Saskia’s life and brought together a backing group they called The Americana Daydream Revival Orchestra in a progressive sound featuring flute and violin. This is their third album consisting of twelve originals and one cover pays homage to the heroes of Southern Rock.

Hoyt Binder plays the dobro as well as guitar on this album with Saskia on vocals. They are joined by Ronald van Deurzen on piano and Hammond B3, Rebecca Kleinman on flute, Tollak Ollestad on harmonica, drummer Toss Panos (Robben Ford) and Jorgen Carlsson (Gov’t Mule) on bass.

The album opens with a brief “Amazing Grace (In Memory of…)” with the sound of man in spurs walking across the floor before the lilt of the well-known song plays and the man walks away quickly shifting into the sole cover song, “Take the Highway” written by Toy Caldwell and originally recorded by Marshall Tucker Band and establishing the theme of the album as the person hits the road citing “This is one place I cannot stay. Memories of your love lingers on”. The story moves to the title song, a tale of the development of an Old West gunslinger. His story in the lyrics ” Held a gun at thirteen, practicing all day. Shootin’ empty cans, oh Lord. Just a kid making play. Now a man of eighteen, learning to be brave. Feeling like a rolling stone always running from my grave”. The flute which is prevalent in songs by Marshall Tucker is also present and relevant in this song as our gunfighter concludes “Take away my smoking gun, I pray”.

Tollak’s harmonica and a train rhythm leads into “Nowhere Junction” as she was “Waiting at the junction, only to see you holding hands with someone, it wasn’t me”. “Lies betrayed me, nothing would be the same.” She goes “Off the Beaten Path” where she shares a dream in which “I passed a sign. It read just go this way, you won’t get lost, and you will never stray”. In “My Mistake” she determines “What I thought was real was fake. All your changing ways was too late. Fell in love with you, my mistake”. That shifts into an instrumental “The Ballad of Grace Malloy”.

“Carolina on My Mind” finds continued ruminations of the past. “So, I sit here all alone, I got you on my mind”. and later in the song with a slight toss back to Marshall Tucker, “I heard it in a love song, woah woah. I can’t believe it feels so real to me. Your music never left me”. Perhaps a reference to Saskia and Hoyt’s own personal interest in the sounds of the group. “Sweep Me Away” a new love is found as she says “We walked the boulevard for one more band. To my surprise you offered your hand. I saw myself in a different life. After a time, I became your wife”. Ronald’s piano takes a strong role in this song. “Here With You” continues the life story as she states, “Loving you is all I ever wanted to do. Times aren’t always easy, but our love is always true by your side at night. When we’re close, hold me tight”.

“Living for Today” throws a little funk into the mix as she reminds him “Don’t throw it away, remember our childhood days. How we felt so free and easy without a care every day”. “Dusty Roads” is a second instrumental. and leads to the album’s conclusion with the passage of time on “November Came Early” and a final statement that “Love will always be the road to follow. As long as I’m with you, time will mend the threads that have unraveled. To our hearts we’ll be true”.

As I am writing this review for Blues Blast, I must first state that I do not find any blues element in any of the songs. But that is not to say, I did not enjoy the album. Hoyt’s guitar work is constantly amazing throughout the album and Saskia’s vocals are equally enjoyable. Ultimately the album, after the opening songs, is about love lost and love found. They do take the southern rock sound of the 70’s and pair it with a progressive rock sound to make it something unique and modern, the overall band contributing considerably to the creation of that sound. Not sure exactly what genre I could classify the album in as it does not sound like anything else that I presently hear on the market, but I cannot totally move away from its pop sensitivity.