The Album

Hello friends! Let’s gather our thoughts and check out this rerelease of Into the Pensieve‘s Gather Your Thoughts. This eleven track album was originally released on February 11, 2008, and was rereleased on February 5, 2021. Let’s dip our wands into the Pensieve and dive right in!

The Tracks

The album starts off with an instrumental only track entitled The Second War. Already, the soft guitar and percussion sets the mood for the rest of the album.

As the first track ends, it merges seamlessly into the next song, Confessions of the Half Blood Prince. The song is slightly more upbeat than the first track, and is the first song to have lyrics. From Snape’s dying point of view, he tells Harry that he is his father. Coming off the heels of the first track, I expected this song to be a lot more serious, but I was pleasantly delighted to hear the humor in this song.

We settle back down into a more serious mood with Hogwarts Here I Come. This song has beautiful fingerpicking on guitar, backing up the melancholy vocals. Listening to this track made me feel super nostalgic for September first and the Hogwarts Express.

Transfigure It Out is next, which is a very funny song. It gave me “I’m So Sick of You” by Weird Al vibes. What happens when your date in the wizarding world is so ugly it feels like your eyes are being put under the
Cruciatus curse? Listen to this song to find out!

A love song is next, called Portkey to Your Heart. This song has an interesting collaboration of witty innuendoes, heartfelt compliments, and magical longing. I definitely felt a lot of emotions while listening to it.

Caught in Your Devil’s Snare is another innuendo-filled love song. This one is a little more upbeat and humorous sounding than the last song. It’s fun, funny, and an all around good time.

It’s Christmas time in the middle of this album with Christmas at Hogwarts. This song has all you need for a good wizard rock Christmas tune – it’s upbeat, has sleigh bells, and tells us what the decorations look like in the Great Hall.

Imperiused When I Left You is an interesting song about what would happen to a relationship if one of the members was put under the Imperius Curse. In keeping with the general theme of the album, this song has elements of a love song while also being funny at the same time.

Ron and Harry sing the next song, 10 Crimes. They argue back and forth about whether Harry actually put his name in the Goblet of Fire in their fourth year at Hogwarts. The song is sad and angsty, emanating with the tension between the two friends.

The next song is a tribute to The Whomping Willows, as Into the Pensieve covers their song, Draco and Harry. Before the song starts, a voice speaks: “This is a tribute to the Whomping Willow, the most talented tree we’ve ever met.” Which, mood. Anyway, the cover is amazing. It captures the original feel of the song while also putting an individual spin on it.

The last song on the album is Don’t Say Goodbye. Soft and sweet guitar, vocals, and harmonies make me feel nostalgic for all of the good times we’ve had with Harry. It’s an absolutely gorgeous song to end a fantastic album.

In Summary

Everything in this album – the vocals, instrumentals, lyrics, themes, and even a parody – makes for incredible wizard rock. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to every song. This was the first time I had heard any of Into the Pensieve, and after listening to this album, I wish that it had been one of the bands that had originally introduced me to wizard rock. Better late than never! All in all, I give this album 10/10 swirly silver thoughts in a big stone basin.