The escalation alone in "Argy ria" is enough to grab you. You're not quite sure what's surrounding you, like walking deep into the forest, with too much and too little at the same time to give you bearings. Then suddenly it rushes at you, a gust of wind so powerful you have to duck behind a tree as the leaves and dirt uproot and rush past you in a blur, only calming as the saccharine coos of Esben and the Witch soothes the gusts and leads you out of the wilderness.
This is just the conjured images of one writer's brain of one song off "Violet Cries," which takes this similar crawling escalation and uses it to its advantage throughout ten tracks that span 43 minutes. Just try to keep your heart from jumping out of your chest, I dare you. Stream the album below and mark your calendar for the album's release on February 8.
This player (esbenandthewitch.co.uk) didn’t survive.
2011 Tour Dates:
03/03 – Washington, DC @ Red Palace
03/04 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Bell House
03/05 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
03/06 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
03/07 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
03/08 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Brillobox
03/09 – Akron, OH @ Musica
03/10 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
03/11 – Toronto, ON @ Wrongbar
03/12 – Denton, TX @ 35 Conferette
03/19 – Austin, TX @ Mess With Texas
03/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater
03/23 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
03/24 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
03/25 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
03/26 – Vancouver, BC @ The Waldorf Hotel
(via Stereogum)