Esben And The Witch - Violet Cries

Gothic three piece Esben and the Witch showcase haunting vocals and captivating melodies on their stunning debut album ‘Violet Cries’.

The opening track ‘Argyria’ (a blue discoloration of the skin caused by excess exposure to silver - of course I didn’t Google that…) sets up the dramatic sound of the overall album, a gradual build up which explodes into a wailing crescendo. It becomes immediately obvious that this is not going to be an easy listen; this band demands your full attention.

However, to break this album up into pieces and look at individual tracks is to ruin the beauty of it: the songs flow together with real ethereal charm like a journey through some mystical landscape. A record with a gothic aesthetic is at risk of sounding a bit dated, and sure, there are obvious 80’s influences here like Siouxsie and the Banshees and Björk, but ‘Violet Cries’ manages to sound refreshingly modern. The electronic elements (especially on ‘Hexagons IV’) bring a trip-hop feel to the record which wouldn’t be out of place sat next to Portishead’s ‘Third’.

Singer Rachel Davies’ vocals at times are at danger of a Florence Welch comparison, being most effective when her haunting moans harmoniously intertwine with the music, as on ‘Marine Fields Glow’. But the poetic lyrics are sung with true conviction, piecing together human emotions with nature, literature, art and the unknown. In an interview with Hydragenic, the band described their wish ‘to create a sense, a mood, to induce a feeling of transportation once joined with the music.’ Listening to the record this is definitely evident, the sense of otherness taking the listener somewhere else, ‘Violet Cries’ being a sort of beautiful escapism.

This record sounds very mature and measured for a debut, Esben and the Witch creating a distinctive sound of feedback laden gothic rock which may not be immediately accessible but delivers listen after listen.

Sophie McGraw