Thursday 2 July 2009

Esben And The Witch - New Waves @ Breaking More Waves

Esben And The Witch create darkly atmospheric creeping soundscapes that they describe as “Nightmare pop.” Like a cobweb covered Portishead or a celestial disconnected Slowdive their beautifully edgy and experimental sound is full of electronic beats, echoing floating vocals and the odd blast of intense punch hard guitar noise. It probably sounds ridiculous but Esben And The Witch are both wounding and healing all at the same time.

Named after a Danish fairytale and consisting of Rachael, Daniel and Thomas, the band hail from Brighton, UK. The group have picked up a variety of support slots in their home town and have released a debut EP entitled 33. Therein you can find Marching Song, a mesmerising sonic adventure that takes a template from School Of Seven Bells and moulds it with searing guitars and trippy aloofness. Even better is the immense Corridors which gradually builds over nine minutes of ambient bliss and transcendental disturbance; like a long intense shag, it will leave you feeling shell-shocked but fulfilled all at the same time. The band have even been known to bring Confide In Me by Kylie Minogue crashing down to earth in a gloriously morbid haze of gloomy guitars reminiscent of The Cure (see video below). You can catch the group at this years End Of The Road Festival in the UK and other selected dates.

No comments: