Cwfen – Sorrows | Album Review

Gothic Glaswegian underground darlings Cwfen revel in various shades of darkness with their moody and atmospheric debut album Sorrows.

Cwfen (pronounced: Coven) have made quite the impression since bursting into the underground scene just over 18 months ago. Hailed for their intense live shows and having the opportunity to open for the likes of Dopethrone, Agriculture and Witching; alongside sharing festival bills with niche heavyweights like Deafheaven, Chat Pile and Liturgy. When Cwfen made their way into the studio last year, they only expected to come out with a few singles, but here we are now with their luscious debut album Sorrows.

Somewhat segmented by experimental instrumental passages labelled as ‘Fragments 1-3’ across the track list, the first introduction to Cwfen proper comes in the form of the melancholy mid-tempo nod of fan favourite breakout ‘Bodies’. It makes for an excellent first impression, now polished from their original vision in demo form; hypnotic and plodding, strong melodies and powerful vocals flipping easily between harrowing cries and subtle harsh howls drawing you in for Sorrows to unfold. The ferocious ‘Wolfsbane’ follows, Agnes Alder’s vocal lines growing in intensity as the repetitions become morph from speech to ravenous, bordering on manic cries. Debut single ‘Reliks’ made a big splash upon release last October and sits perfectly in the first half of Sorrows. Embodying a strong throwback vibe, fully embracing the melodic energy of classic hard rock ballads in their twisted and darker shades, making a nice stylistic shake up somewhat early into the album whilst delivering more strong helpings doom tinged goth worship.

Cwfen straddle their own sonic lines fusing aspects of various alternative genres. Compared to modern goth queen Chelsea Wolfe and esoteric doom weavers King Woman; the band’s core sound blends somber cavernous goth rock with moody post-punk reminiscent of first wave goth. Adding the unbridled angst of Type O Negative, further nods to the late 80’s/early 90’s hard rock ballads, tonal hefts of doom metal and post-metal with a spacious weight cut rounded out with explorative shoegaze spaces. On top of this, the bands lyricism embodies their namesake wholeheartedly, feeling like you’ve been pulled into the depths of an underground black magick cult, worshipping a primordial force of witch kind. 

Strong vocal and instrumental hooks are woven into the core of the experience that only grow in intensity on repeat listens. Produced between themselves alongside Kevin Hare (Blasphemer, Solar Sons), they balance the deep seeded weight of doom metal with a lighter sonic palette, keeping the intensity but with a more approachable sound. Everything sounds distant, filled with longing, saturated in reverb, delay and spacious effects creating vivid and expansive realms for each track. The mix is purposefully a little thin to push the more eclectic moments when the low end hits harder and accentuate the intensity of the instrumentals and screamed vocals further.

‘Fragment 2’’s manipulated speech samples sets the sense of unease and gives way to the heaviest track on the album ‘Penance’. Cwfen flip the script and deliver a gnarled bastard of a track filled with glacial post-metal riffs and howling vocals as the focus rather than the switch up to give an experience akin to being battered by violent winter winds in the Scottish highlands. It is rather fitting that the following ‘Fragment 3’ is the sounds of a stirring thunderstorm passing as it fades into the slow burn of ‘Embers’. Much like with ‘Bodies’, the second of the band’s original demo’s ‘Embers’ finds it’s place as the second to last track on the album and fits like a glove as a quiet reflective moment and a prolonged moody nod. The ambience is torn asunder as the seething battering of caustic album closer ‘Rite’ leaves a defiant final impression of a band ready to burst at the seams and devour everything in their path. 

It’s clear when listening to Sorrows that Cwfen are their own beast entirely, shapeshifting and weaving between various sub-genres and musical spaces, creating something unique and forging a strong self-identity with their debut album. It is one hell of a journey through powerful ritualistic neck wringers and sorrowful, somber laments. It really is no wonder the band have developed such a substantial buzz about them when they deliver a refreshing and contemplative exploration of occult, gothic and metal realms.