The release of the album Widowing/Possessing was a great discovery in this month of April 2022. Autumn Tears (Massachusetts) and Zeresh (Israel) are the protagonists of this split album. Released on February 15, 2022, Widowing/Possessing is available in digital and CD formats.
Like heat and cold or shadow and light, Widowing and Possessing are a duality that forms the foundation of this album. Widowing, orchestral and lyrical, would be the bright part. Possessing, with calmer atmospheres would be the shadow part.
Strongly influenced by Jóhann Jóhannsson’s music, vocal and instrumental music, Autumn Tears shows their mastery of orchestration and composition, even if their new songs do not shake up the codes of the genre. The listener can appreciate enchanting music reminiscent of soundtracks and world music. One thing is sure, Widowing does celebrate female vocals and vocal arrangements. Its rich instrumentation includes the common instruments of a European orchestra with string, woodwinds and brass sections, as well as a wide range of percussion, but also extra-European instruments that add an extra flavor to the album. One can’t help but think of Two Steps From Hell at certain moments or of composer Jeremy Soule (Guild Wars, The Elders Scrolls).
The much darker atmosphere of Possessing contrasts with that of Widowing. With fewer instruments, but just as rich in ambiences and colors, the work of Zeresh is anchored in a dark folk and dark ambient genre. Deeply nostalgic, it is Widowing’s ideal opposite. Instead of an epic or exotic journey, Possessing offers a poetic introspection with its instrumentation between vocals, electric guitars, bass, drums, violin and ultra-reverberated noisy atmospheres. This side of the album calls for calm and contemplation.
In total, the album features 7 new tracks from Autumn Tears and then 6 new tracks from Zeresh. A judicious association that makes you want to see a closer collaboration between the two groups by listening to their songs: a collaboration for an album where their two aesthetics would mix within the same compositions. With an album like Widowing/Possessing, such an idea is far from absurd and their latest split could be a starting point for a project of this kind. A hope that I nourish, conquered by the musical universe of both.
