Violet Cries explodes into life, all haunted, jangling guitars, wailing vocals and funeral march drums. It’s a powerful opening. But you quickly become inured to its charms, as echoed singing and muddy production ratchet up the boredom factor.
Esben and the Witch never fully win you over. But at moments they do numb you into submission. ‘Hexagon IV’ and ‘Chore’ have a certain grind-house appeal. Alas, however, there’s far to much gothic pretension here, reaching its nadir on the indulgent ‘Battlecry/Mimicry’ and the suicide-capsule-in-a-song closer ‘Swans’. Esben and the Witch made me feel dead inside. Maybe that is precisdely what they intended, but I wouldn’t be going back for more.