Category: Thoughts On

Woolworm – Awe

a2978865837_10I have been introduced to AWE purely by algorithmic chance when it appeared on my dashboard, posted by one of my metal acquaintances. Who even knows what made it stick, the name, the cover-art – that’s all a fool’s guess but somehow from the barrage of new music recommended every day, AWE stuck in my mind until I finally gave it a go.

Then it didn’t leave my headphones nor speakers at home (much to the chagrin of my SO after some time) for almost two weeks, a big deal for me. I was hooked. Neither of my friends really was, despite my incessant nagging them to check it out. Losers. But it was the RYM page for the album (or rather, the fact that there were no reviews of it at all on there) that broke me and made me curse at the sky that I have to share it, speak of it, praise it.

this is the point where I realize I just wrote two paragraphs of pointless intro so the description of music will have to match or surpass that because otherwise I am stupid

There’s something enchanting about AWE and no matter how hard I want to find it, it keeps slipping away. The unique mood of the album, dry, almost sardonic is reflected in all of its aspects, from the vocals (of course), down to the small production flavours. It’s not a “producers record” though, brimming with flourishes never to be replicated on stage – quite the opposite, it’s deceptively simple, like something produced or recorded by Steve Albini. Raw in it’s honest, hypnotic tempo, the record chugs along, every song having that one smart, cool, composition thing done with the limited rock-band repertoire, banging and whimpering until there’s silence.

And you want to go again.

One thing that immediately comes to my mind when I think about this record is how tired it seems. It’s an encapsulated breath of exhaustion, either or both (depending on the situation) mental or physical that feels almost intimate. There’s no machismo posturing like it often happens with post-punkish albums, no long, drawn-out stories that have to scream “this is important”. The entire feel of the album is best described using one of the lyrics, from one of the album-bangers “Finally”:

“Come to in someone else’s home I take a long boring look in the mirror”

It’s a lyric we heard a thousand times, to the point where it stopped making any sense. It’s a cliche at this point, and here it was very tellingly used to flip it on its head. It’s almost a jester-like situation, laughing at one’s own drama and self-importance. Sure, drama is palpable but in a very understated way, it’s like living with your demons, day-in, day-out. Not much shouting, just a lot of sighs.

Listen here:

2019 part two – moving pictures

Okay, almost a month’s wait isn’t that bad compared to the delays that used to happen here…

I’ve written at length about what was happening at mines throughout last year and even managed to write-up about some of the albums that accompanied me during the year – if you haven’t seen that click somewhere on here to read it. You’ll find it.

Continue reading “2019 part two – moving pictures”