Arriving in a plain envelope with no supporting information, Sorrows is the enigmatic debut from occult Glaswegian four-piece Cwfen. Drawing on a range of influences, from the titanic doom of Type O Negative and the crushing horror of Amenra to the dark-hearted doom-gaze of King Woman, Cwfen have produced an album of real worth. Aided by Kevin Hare of Deep Storm Productions and James Plotkin (on mastering duties), the band have carved out an immense yet ethereal set of songs that will surely stand the test of time.
The album opens with a haunting prelude – Fragment I – a thirty-second burst of eerie noise that gives way to first track proper, Bodies. A strong introduction to the band, Bodies finds the band effortlessly combining might and melody as Agnes Alder’s sweetly soothing voice rings out from a hollow at the heart of the band’s atmospheric, doom-laden music. Metallic, but with an ambience that has more in common with the bands that emerged out of Scotland’s exquisite indie rock scene in the late 90s (most notably Delgados and Mogwai), Bodies just keeps getting heavier, as the churning riffs slowly draw the listener towards a brutal denouement that finds harrowing screams slowly edge their way into the heart of the piece.
A burst of unsettling noise paves the way for Wolfsbane – another lengthy piece that draws from a range of influences – its opening riff cleaving surprisingly close to the dry ice theatrics of Fields of the Nephilim, while a grimy post-punk bassline only adds to the intensity. With Agnes’ powerful vocal performance wreathed in reverb, it’s a track that eschews bludgeoning power in favour of an unearthly ambience that repays repeated listens as it draws you into the band’s unique world. The first half of the record spins to a halt with the lovely Reliks. Slower paced than the tracks that precede it, it leans harder into the gothic elements of Cwfen’s sound, although the chorus explodes with far greater energy, reminding us that this multi-faceted band have little interest in genre loyalty, and the track takes a number of sonic twists and turns over the course of its six-minute run time.
Opening the second side, the hypnotic, almost trip-hop drums of Whispers drive a track that does its best to imagine what Kate Bush fronting a Massive Attack cover of The Cure might sound like. It’s a hauntingly original piece and one of the finest trips on the album, the sense of restraint that prevails in the opening minutes only serving to make the emergence of the guitars all the more satisfying. The short Fragment II provides a brief segue into Penance – a feedback strewn, doom-laden monster that is easily the album’s heaviest moment to this point. Built around a towering riff and with harrowing, scorched-earth vocals, it sounds utterly immense, the production and performance conspiring to blot out the sun as the band stare blankly at a broken future.
Following another short segue, which helps to soothe the savaged senses after the turbulent Penance, Fragment III paves the way for a final pair of tracks. First up, Embers finds the band returning to an updated take on post-punk ambience, the heavier riffs offset by glistening leads that seem to tremor under the weight of the softly falling November rain. It builds to a fiery finale that takes in coruscating screams and searing riffs, before slowly collapsing under its own weight, leaving this enigmatic album to wrap up with Rite. One last missive from the underworld, which finds Cwfen unleashing a series of churning riffs as Agnes once more screams within the void, it provides a fittingly dark ending to an album that delights in dancing around its influences. Put simply, Rite leaves you both in awe of the band and wondering where they’ll take us next.
Beautifully produced and powerfully performed, Sorrows is a remarkable debut from a band who refuse to sit comfortably within any obvious pigeonhole. Wrapped up in Agnes Alder’s discomfiting artwork, it is an essential album for any doom fan, taking the listener on a dark, deep trip into the unknown. 9/10
