Tracklisting:
1 The Week Before Easter (3:50)
2 Worcester City (3:42)
3 The Wild Wild Berry (5:10)
4 Down In The Meadow (2:03)
5 Lord Thomas And Fair Ellanor (10:27)
6 The Prentice Boy (5:52)
7 Cruel Lincoln (10:28)
8 Love Henry (5:07)
9 The Knight Templar’s Dream (6:08)
10 Gethsemene (3:52)
11 Sweet Williams Ghost (8:16)

The first time I had heard anything by Andrew King, was upon purchasing the excellent Dark Folk compilation ‘John Barleycorn Reborn’ released on Cold Spring in collaboration with Woven Wheat Whispers last year (mentioned by the Arch Drude himself in his November Drudion 2007). The track is a phenomenal interpretation of the biblical parable ‘Dives And Lazarus’. There was something very authentic about both the vocal delivery and the musical accompaniment. It sounded as if it could have been recorded at any point in the last 400 years or so. Andrew’s vocal is also incredibly unique and instantly recognizable, much in the same way that Sol Invictus’ Tony Wakeford, or Current 93’s David Tibet can be pinpointed immediately. And likewise it will not be to everyone’s taste. 

I managed to track down a download copy of ‘The Amfortas Wound’ via the now defunct Woven Wheat Whispers website. The cd was unavailable (except for a very expensive and gorgeous limited edition) from Athanor at the time, but I was more than happy to part with 6 quid for a digital copy of an album that promised so much. Little did I really know just how profound an affect the album would have on me over the next 12 months and continues to do so.

It is rare that I buy a cd nowadays that I regularly return to only to be blown away again and again (or even just wish to listen to regularly). I keep waiting to be disappointed when I listen to the album, but if anything it STILL gets better and better. 

The opening track ‘The Week Before Easter’ is a reworking of traditional English folksong, and paints a bleak picture of unrequited love (Shirley Collins has also recorded the track under it’s most commonly named title ‘The False Bride’ and originates from the Copper family according to the linear notes). Andrew’s lyrical delivery is quite delicate and fragile and the accompanying light drone fits perfectly creating a somber processional feel. The song ends with the hint of suicide as his true love is wedded to another. 

This is quite typical of the themes that evolve over the next hour or so. The tracks are divided into retellings of stories of murder, jealousy, death and heartbreak. Some are unaccompanied, but most are delivered with drones and loops and that voice – which also seems to attempt (successfully I presume – he certainly does his research as the linear notes testify) the correct intonation which again add to the authenticity. Some of the tracks are brutal (‘Cruel Lincoln’ tells a tale of infanticide), some gentle (‘Down In The Meadow’), and some haunting (‘Sweet William’s Ghost’), but all manage to sound and feel right. 

One of the reasons I feel moved enough to review and recommend this is because I truly cannot think of another record that sounds like it, either musically or thematically (although I am certainly no expert on English folk – far from it!). Alasdair Roberts’ opening track on ‘No Earthly Man’ ‘Lord Ronald’ is possibly the closest I can come, but it falls way short of the tone and rich and timeless delivery of the themes covered in this record. This is not twee by any stretch of the imagination and is as likely to appeal to those who are interested in drone and dark ambient/industrial music as it will to those who appreciate folk music. The linear notes and lyrics in the booklet are also an excellent addition that enriches the whole experience.

Thankfully Athanor have more copies of the standard release which can be bought direct from Andrew King via his myspace page (my downloaded version has been replaced by the actual cd itself — a beautiful digpak and booklet which also includes artwork by Andrew King) – and if cash allows I strongly recommend checking out the other fine jewels in his back catalogue. A true English artist of the highest order.