Wyrmwood |
At first listen, San Antonio duo Wyrmwood appears to be following in the footsteps of many another EBM/synthpop/darkwave group. The beats are tightly programmed and simple enough that even Goths can dance along; the keyboards are smooth and tasteful. Then Aria opens her mouth and starts singing... and suddenly everything kicks into high gear. Aria hits all the notes and definitely knows how to project her voice... but so do many other singers. What makes her stand out, what grabs you and pulls you in is her passion and her power. Her delivery is throaty and sexy and cuts through the slickness like a hot knife slicing through cheese. Songs like “Spiders” take us down a nightmarish rabbit hole, while on “Mirror, Mirror” Aria breaks the glossy surface with an anguished, angry alto. The music is generally cold and detached, like most synthpop/darkwave. Aria’s vocals are anything but: this tension helps make the songs compelling. The apocalyptic imagery found in “The Keeper” and “Red Moon Rising” may be off-putting to some, particularly those who would pigeonhole “Christian rock” into an airbrushed and immaculately scrubbed “Rock without Danger.” Of course, anyone who has read Kierkegaard, C.S. Lewis or Flannery O’Connor knows that there’s plenty of darkness to be found in Christianity. Much as non-Christians can enjoy The Chronicles of Narnia, you can dance to Wyrmwood’s music even if you’re following a different spiritual path. (And let’s give credit where credit is due: in most Gothic circles expressing faith in Jesus is more shocking, transgressive and courageous than anything Genesis P. has done in decades... ) I’d like to see Wyrmwood stretch themselves a bit and try expanding their musical horizons. All too often they’ve programmed “darkwave-by-the-book.” Their music is invariably pleasant, but doesn’t always grab you by the throat the way it could. I’d suggest putting a little Schoenberg and Varese alongside their VNV Nation and Covenant collection; I’d also like to see them adding an electric guitar player and a drummer to the band. (You can do a lot with programming, sure ... but live musicians add an immediacy and energy which you can’t get with any synthesizer). Still, this is a worthy debut effort and one which deserves wider attention. I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next. 1. Spiders Aria: Vocals, Lyrics, Programming |