As We Wither

Originally reviewed in https://theprogressivesubway.wordpress.com/2020/07/06/april-2020-part-2/4/

This is the first time in this blog that I’ve gotten the chance to review a follow up to an album I checked out previously in the blog.

I was very impressed with this band’s debut. They stuck to various tropes of the genre with a clear influence on genre giants Deafheaven and Alcest, and in the end produced a very enjoyable album, even if it barely had any self-identity. As We Wither changes that.

This album is actually quite different from the debut. It gets rid of it’s heavenly atmosphere in favour of a more cold, sinister feel, making it an album that gets a lot more dramatic, sad, and emotional. The vocals are also majorly changed; while AOA had only your generic high shriek vocals, AWW goes for vocals that are very raw and powerful. They even have moments where the voice oscillates between spoken and screamed, and it just adds a layer of ‘’oompfness’’ to all of it. All of the aforementioned elements give this band a much needed identity, and I hope it’s here to stay.

The other aspects are just what you’ve come to expect out of Post-Black, done expertly, and consistently. While I believe the debut had the band’s best track so far (‘’Apathy’’), it was inconsistent in it’s quality of writing, with it’s two 10 min track being the clear standouts, and the rest just being good filler. As We Wither offers consistent quality throughout the record, and even though they’re not as good as the aforementioned track, both the album’s hit ‘’Wither’’ and it’s follow up track ‘’Forgotten Tongue’’ give the title a run for it’s money.

All in all, Together to the Stars has proven that they’re a force to be reckoned with, delivering 2 great albums in 2 years. I hope that As We Wither is just the beginning of a band that found it’s identity, and aspires to take it to another ceiling of quality.