Mastodawn

Esben and the Witch – Older Terrors (2016, UK)

Our next spotlight is on number 730 on The List, submitted by sentynel.

I had not heard this post-rock trio before but, as soon as the vocals kicked in on the first track, I couldn’t help but feel like they sounded familiar. Was it just that Rachel Davies’ voice reminded me of another band? Makthaverskan maybe? Perhaps Messa, a little? Something in my previous life? I did some searching and the first review I found compared it to Dutch gothic metal band The Gathering, particularly their singer Anneke van Giersbergen and their album Mandylion (1995). I couldn’t remember ever having listened to them either though, so I put Mandylion on directly after Older Terrors. And, reader, I admit, though the musical styles are different, I, a total newbie to both bands, wouldn’t have been able to tell you which band was playing if suddenly the tracks from those two albums got shuffled together.

But, I mean, having now listened to just one Esben and the Witch album and one The Gathering album, I couldn’t possibly write a blog post about the influence of the older band on the younger, I’d just be talking out of my you-know-what and doing a disservice to both singers and bands. And that’s not why Davies’ voice sounded familiar anyway.

So, rather than reading more reviews, I did the Discogs thing and…doh, I’m an idiot. I have heard Davies before. She guested on the Labyrinthine album from Nadja. An album which I own on cassette, bought just last year. And a song which I’ve specifically tooted about, in these exact words:

“Maybe listening to this song on repeat all day will fix me:
Nadja – ‘Rue‘ (with vocals by Rachel Davies of Esben & The Witch)”

I’m tired, y’all.

Now, go listen to Esben and the Witch, The Gathering, and Nadja. They are all fantastic. (Also, btw, the Esben album previous to this, A New Nature [2014], was recorded/engineered/mixed by the late great Steve Albini – that’s where I’m headed next…)

#EsbenAndTheWitch #music #postrock