Esben And The Witch - Violet Cries

British indie rock combo Esben and the Witch based its name on the eponymous Danish fairytale about a the youngest of twelve brothers, named Esben. Being smaller and weaker than his brothers Esben is systematically overlooked, until he eventually saves the day. Make no mistake about the general tenor of the story though: to ancient fairy tale custom our hero doesn't prevail before about a dozen people have been murdered and he himself has gotten close to being eaten. If you know that some of their other influences include Francis Bacon and Greek mythology and you could assume that Esben and the Witch is not situated on the happy end of the musical spectre. And you would assume correctly. Their debut album 'Violet Cries' - built around their trademark dark electronica and eerie vocals - exales an anything but cheerful atmosphere. But whatever it may, after their self-released 33 EP 'Violet Cries'  promised to be a interesting record.

The album starts with 'Argyria', which slowly draws you into the the somber dreamscape of the band. The dark shoegaze sound swells, crawling over you like a shadow, and then fades away as sudden as it appeared. On lead single 'Marching Song' it's the ghostlike vocals providing the necessary chills. These first two tracks immediatly give you a pretty clear idea of what sound Esben and the Witch is trying to achieve. 'Hexagons IV' contains a hint of witch house reminding of Unison's 'Outsides' with its eerie build-up and muted beats. A hint, because of the subtlety, as Esben and the Witch can't really be cathegorized under one specific denominator. The pressing ambience of 'Chorea' is similarly built up, creeping up on you until it suddenly breaks off, like a dream from which you abruptly wake up,  still feeling somewhat uneasy. The spooky, tensed interlude 'Battlecry/Mimicry' - reminiscent of the Knife's 'Tumult' with its Greek-tragedy feel - evokes an ominous, creepy pre-battle atmosphere. It forms a seemless bridge to 'Eumenides', a beautiful yet tormented elegy. The songs bursts with emotions, which is largely the merit of Rachel Davies' beautiful vocals. Only rarely Esben and the Witch allows a ray of sunshine to pierce through their dark melodies. On 'Marine Fields Glow' and 'Light Streams' the band comes in the wake of Beach House with melodies that are a bit less somber. But even at its poppiest Esben and the Witch still sounds closer to nightmare pop than dream pop. 'Light Streams' alternates dark-sounding energy-outbursts with eerie shoegaze and dreamy vocals, towards the end the drum roll swells taking the song to an exhilerating finale.

Instead of making autobiographical songs or mirroring their own feelings in their music, the band's staring point is exploring stories that captured their imagination. 'Eumenides' is based on the story of Orestes and the furies, 'Lucia , at the precipice' - which doesn't feature on the album but was released early 2010 as a single - explores the ilness and emotional struggles of writer James Joyce's daughter Lucia. That somewhat challenging premisse might make Esben and the Witch a little less in your face and thus perhaps less approachable than the average Linkin Park album. But who ever decided that music had to speak directly to its listeners. Sometimes a small threshold merits the extra effort and  'Violet Cries' is definately worth the plunge.

Tracklist

1. Argyria

2. Marching Song

3. Marine Fields Glow

4. Light Streams

5. Hexagons IV

6. Chorea

7. Warpath

8. Battlecry/Mimicry

9. Eumenides

10. Swans