Esben and the Witch: Violet Cries

Esben and the Witch
Violet Cries
Rating: Woof Daddy

Esben and the Witch, lead by Siren-voiced singer/percussionist Rachel Davies, leaps out the gate with their debut album Violet Cries, their sound fully formed. Mining from artists as diverse as Dead Can Dance, Siouxsie and the Banshees, probably the entire 4AD label roster, Esben and the Witch are dramatic and gothic (but not goth) without being pretentious or mocking. Songs usually build from a minimal template (heavy, droning guitars, hushed and muted electronic beats and keyboards, and Davies' haunting voice) while gathering strength and force.

Violet Cries is a very difficult, dark listen, full of moody passages and haunting melodies. At times, it feels that the weight of the music will come crashing down, but there are so many amazing, subtle textures lurking around the corners. "Warcraft," building on a bed of hazy samples and electronics, and erupting with droning, reverbed guitars, almost loses its balance before righting itself with a delicate guitar melody



"Light Streams" appears torpid at first, a meandering guitar line underneath Davies' sleepy vocal, but midway changing into a interlocked guitar dual:



And the gorgeous "Hexagons IV" moving from burbling synthesizers, tribal percussion, and chanted/sampled voices, to a simply sublime passage featuring one of the most haunting guitar parts in recent memory:



Violet Cries is not a "singles" album made up of a few killer tracks and the rest filler. It is meant to be listened to as a whole, and indeed, hearing the entire thing brings much more to the experience than just cherry picking a song here and there. Of course, that is not to say there aren't some stunning individual tracks here. First single "Marching Song," gathers steam from a simple drum pattern, and explodes in a maelstrom of wailing guitars and Davies' war cry of a voice:



The video is equally striking.

The standout track on Violet Cries is "Eumenides," a 6 minute track broken into distinct sections, The first a lullaby with quiet, hushed guitars and Davies' melancholy voice; gaining strength for the middle section with denser electronics; morphing into an electro-tribal rave-up with Davies' cries of "Silver bullets, silver hearts"



Esben and the Witch make serious music, for serious music fans. This is not for passive listening; it is muscular and unforgiving and demands full engagement. For those that enjoy being challenged, Violet Cries is an early front-runner for consideration as album of the year.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.