By: Daniela Patrizi FVNERALS | website | facebook | twitter | bandcamp | soundcloud |
Released on October 14, 2016 via Golden Antenna Records
Dark and moody, ethereal and oppressive, sad and beautiful, Wounds, the latest album by Fvnerals, is an incredible nighttime listening experience.
Based in Glasgow, FVNERALS are a band whose music follows the path of doom, shoegaze and dark ambience tradition. Doom is definitely the right word for their new album and its thick, dark atmosphere that powerfully washes over the listener. Wounds is a collection of seven tracks that flow into each other, offering no break from the relentless oppression of the heart. Well, they are distinguishable by shades of blackness. Above everything there is the bassist and vocalist Tiffany Strom’s voice that meticulously highlights the most dramatic, emotional and suspenseful moments.
As soon as you press play, you’ll have the impression to tumble in slow motion towards the sonic light offered by Strom’s voice and when it disappears you are taken back to the darkness where you come from. In approximately 40 minutes Wounds covers all the nuances of grey and there’s no way you can find a different color in the whole album since there’s no song whit a happy ending sticker.
The opener ‘Void’ is the intro to the whole composition and nods the album mood. Darkness is everywhere and tension builds up until the voice of Tiffany takes the scene at the beginning of the following ‘Wounds’. Tiffany’s voice is a great contrast and prevails over the background beating of sacrificial drums. Her voice takes you into ‘Shiver’ offering a kind of comfort to the oppression and anxiety of the song. ‘Shiver’ is powerful, yet delicate when considered in conjunction with the track’s steady drumbeats. The step ahead the band made with the new album is evident. After two EPs and their debut LP, they have explored the essence of their work and they are now back with a minimal approach to their music through which they are capable to create such a tense atmosphere that evokes a psychological thriller inside your head. In addition, while doom music is often emotion- free, Fvnerals manage to touch your sensitivity through the cold but sensual Tiffany’s voice that allows the instruments to breathe and to permeate the listener’s body and mind. In a deeper dimension they could do even better and that’s the direction the band should head towards considering their potential.
‘Teeth’ sounds exactly like the previous tracks and the others that close the album but this is not a bad thing because the whole sound is fresh and gets better with every listening. The gothy ‘Antlers’ and the closer ‘Where’ in particular, are full of melody that, together with the singer’s voice, make less dark the guitar riffs and the almost clockwork-like drumming.
Wounds runs like a unique piece from the very first notes and all the way to the album final. As the cover art suggests, experiencing this album is like walking in a dark wood land and on repeat listens its sound will get stuck in your head and, while you absorb it, the world around you becomes darker and more uncertain.
Wounds will be released by The Native Sound (USA) and Golden Antenna Records (EU).
