VERWOED – THE MOTHER

(Andy Synn reminds you all that it’s mother’s day this Friday)

As has been pretty well documented, I’m somewhat of a sceptic/cynic when it comes to “one man bands”.

The reason for this is that – in my estimation, at least – the lack of that collaborative creative push-and-pull which you get in a full band situation all too often results in a rather myopic view of things from the singular solo-artist, who may well have something they want to say (I’m not denying that) but doesn’t realise that it’s already been said, in much the same way, many times before.

There are, however, obvious exceptions to this “rule”… certain artists who don’t just possess the necessary vision, and the voice with which to express it, but are also self-aware enough to know that a big part of getting your message across is not only what you say, but how you say it.

And one of those artists is Erik Bleijenberg, aka Verwoed.

I’m not, let me be very clear on this, claiming that The Mother is some sort of drastic reinvention of the Black Metal wheel (although some will surely find it undeniably reinvigorating).

After all, comparisons can certainly be made (even if they don’t tell the full story) to the likes of their countrymen in Wesenwille or their Germanic cousins Ultha, or even perhaps their distant Swedish relatives Shining at their proggiest (especially in relation to the gloomy grooves and moody acoustic guitar work which insinuate themselves seamlessly into the second half of the tension-filled title-track).

But as the record progresses – and I’m willing to admit that, as much as I like the aforementioned title-track, The Mother doesn’t really find its proper footing until the sinister, psychotropic strains of “The Child” start to slither from the speakers – it becomes more and more obvious that Bleijenberg is indeed in possession of a distinct (though, perhaps, not quite fully realised, as of yet) vision, along with a well-defined voice (both literally, in the form of his ardent, reverb-drenched vocal delivery, and more figuratively), for what he wants Verwoed to be.

This is particularly notable during second-half highlights “The Madman’s Dance” and “Death in a Rosary”, with the prominent (and appropriately maddening) melodies of the former adding an almost impressionistic, synaesthetic sensibility to the album much befitting its eye-catchingly abstract artwork (created once again by Joost Vervoort of Terzij de Horde), while the brooding slow-burn of the latter uses its extended run-time to conjure an even greater, and deeper, sense of character which suggests that it’s only now that Verwoed is truly coming into its own.

As a result, and despite what you may read elsewhere, it’s safe to say that The Mother is not a perfect album by any stretch of the imagination – if you’ve been paying attention you’ll notice that I’ve only mentioned four of the album’s seven tracks, and that should tell you something about the ones I’ve left out (though “A Choir of Null and Void” certainly has its moments, even if it still feels like it’s building towards something that never arrives) – but it’s a fascinating piece of work all the same, one whose flaws stem more from an excess of ambition than a lack of ability, and which reveals more of its inner-depths with each and every listen.