Woods End – Widow’s Watch

Folk

66%

 

A lot of time and energy is spent each year discussing the “song of the summer”. What’s the song that’s been soundtracking your summertime adventures? The song you’ve been singing along to on road trips, the one that’s featured in a few too many of your Instagram stories, the one you keep requesting on every night out. I can’t deny, thoughts about what my own song of the summer was return to me at this time each year, when I sit down to reflect about the best releases for my end of year lists.

However, I hope I’m not alone in placing just as much weight in my choice of “album of the winter”. When everything starts winding down for the holidays, what music are you going to seal yourself away to hibernate with? When you’re sat wrapped up in blankets with a mug of hot chocolate, while the harsh winter batters away at your windows, you’re gonna need more than just a single song. When the world is cold and quiet and you have time to kill, you need an album you can spend time with, pouring over every last detail. 

If you’re still looking for a record to fill that role, then the new album from Swedish band Woods End would be a great fit. Widow’s Watch, very much following in the footsteps of their first two albums, draws inspiration from the wintery snow-swept landscapes of their homeland. Evoking a place and time where the nights seem to stretch on forever, and what few hours of daylight remain are obscured by dense fog and falling snow. The band’s dark and haunting gothic folk sound capturing the cold melancholy of the season. The deep rugged vocals sound like those of a master storyteller who’s seen their fair share of winters. There’s an eerie mystical feel to their music, like an old folk tale warning children not to venture too deep into the woods, yet also the homely feel of being huddled by a warm and welcoming hearth as the story is being told. 

‘Home Again’ is a stunning slow burner that culminates in a howling guitar solo like the squall of an icy wind. The fragile atmospheric ‘Vindstilla’ allows room for some superbly expressive bass work to fill the empty space, while ‘Derelict’ toys with psychedelica in a way that’s deeply reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s ‘No Quarter’. ‘Pine Tree Isle’ meanwhile veers into brighter, wanderlust inducing territory; like the irresistible allure of fresh snow urging you to forge a path across it. Rich vivid lyricism paints a clear and detailed picture of the solitary lighthouse it describes in a way that really draws you in. So real it’s almost tangible, as though if you closed your eyes you may find yourself on that very shore when next you opened them. Yet fittingly enough it’s ‘December’ that stands as the highlight of this winter wonderland. Between its haunting harmonies, the dark ominous stormcloud of a climax, and all the small expressive touches that build up the atmosphere piece by piece, it brings all the best elements of the album together.  

Snowy storytelling aside, Widow’s Watch is still a record that thrives on the attention afforded a “winter album”. There are a lot of subtleties which make the album that are all too easy to miss on a casual listen. It’s a record that requires patience and attentiveness in order to get the full measure of it. This isn’t something you cam simply dip your toe into, the choice is to take the plunge or stay dry entirely. Alongside this, it’s easy to get absorbed and feel like an age has passed in mere minutes; it’s an album that at times can feel longer that it actually is. That said, is the same not true for winter itself? The frost always lingers, and spring always seems to drag its heels. Widow’s Watch may demand your time and attention, but while the bitter cold still bites outside I’ll happily wrap up warm indoors and give it all the time it needs.