With hypnotic urgency, David Eugene Edwards (formerly of 16 Horsepower) returns with his third full-length release under the moniker WovenHand to again woo listeners into his enchanting and layered world of musical meditations.
Mosaic, the album — recorded in the cold of an Elktooth, Colorado winter — is built on Edwards’ ardent observations on a kingdom not of this world. It will be released on Danielson’s Sounds Familyre label on September 12.
The album opens with “Breathing Bull,” a dreamy instrumental that starts with a distant barely audible sound of a bandoneon and pump organ slowly and subtlely beckoning the listener into its warm and enchanted universe. The 90-second intro gives way to the anthemic and jarring “Winter Shaker,” which prominently features the hurdy gurdy and introduces the album’s thematic focus with hallelujahs and the repeating line, “All his glory.”
Old-fashioned in structure and approach — the song “Twigs” references a 4th century chant written by Saint Ambrose — Edwards’ music is an enchanting otherwordly brew. Joined by Ordy Garrison on percussion, Daniel McMahon on keys and Elin Palmer on strings, Edwards builds his compositions off haunting melodies set to the tender strain of a banjo, hypnotic percussion and the faint sound of a piano or organ.
On the song “Whistling Girl,” it’s Edwards’ lyrical refrain that pulls the careful blend of piano and banjo together. When he sings, “Through the open window of the soul tonight, his yoke is easy and his burden light,” it’s difficult to not imagine being swept up and taken to another place, comforted by the soothing and airy voice singing you into a daze.
Whether the Biblical references inspire heartfelt devotion or confused indifference, it is the power of the words and the convicting passionate authority with which they are sung that bring Edwards’ songs to another level. Like his previous contributions as WovenHand and as the frontman for 16 Horsepower before that, Edwards’ devotion is as unmistakable as the original sound he has forged. The music is brooding, dark and somehow maintain a tight grip onto the hope.
Fall will see a US tour with a full-band, including 16 Horsepower bassist Pascal Humbert,
dates will be announced shortly
WovenHand – Mosaic track list:
1.Breathing Bull
2.Winter Shaker
3.Swedish Purse
4.Twig
5.Whistling Girl
6.Elktooth
7.Bible and Bird
8.Dirty Blue
9.Slota Prow Full Armour
10.Truly Golden
11.Deerskin Doll
12.Little Raven