Esben and the Witch - A New Nature (Limited Edition) (2014)

The record, their third album, following last year's Wash The Sins Not Only The Face, and their second release of 2014 after a split with Thought Forms in April, marks something of a change of tact for the band. For starters, it's coming out via the band's own new imprint, Nostromo Records, following an amicable split with their previous label Matador. It's also been recorded by the well-worn, expert hands of Steve Albini, no less, at his Chicago studio Electrical Audio following a successful Pledge Music campaign earlier this year. Most significantly, it sees the band stripping back their sound and taking out a lot of the electronic matter, instead forging even more expansive songs (the album's centrepiece is the near-15-minute 'The Jungle') in raw, more live-feeling sonics. 'Blood Teachings' is a good case in point, with its Swans-esque heaving repetition providing a soundbed over which Rachel Davies unfurls a mesmeric vocal, not dissimilar to former Albini collaborator PJ Harvey, building to a razing, fuzzed crescendo.

TRACKLIST

CD1

01. Press Heavenwards!
02. Dig Your Fingers In
03. No Dog
04. The Jungle
05. Those Dreadful Hammers
06. Wooden Star
07. Blood Teachings
08. Bathed In Light

CD2

01. Those Dreadful Hammers (Live)
02. Dig Your Fingers In (Live)
03. No Dog (Live)
04. Press Heavenwards! (Live)

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