It’s been 10 looooong years since I discovered the UK’s Cairiss and their debut EP, Fall: a gorgeous example of Myrkur-y ,Deafheaven-y, Alcest-y, Ghost Bath-y post/atmospheric black metal.
There have been a couple of lineup changes, with Alex Taylor coming over from the now split-up Aklash. Still, the most impactful addition is Lydia Williams on soprano vocals, joining Freya and her hawkish screams and her own clean vocals. And it’s this brilliant duality that drives this 6-song, 42-minute gem.
The core sound, musically, is still rooted in the 3 above-mentioned bands, and done really well, with some gorgeous, uplifting riffs, but when Williams and Freya play off each other, which is thankfully pretty often, it’s really special. Imagine a sonic representation of that elegant cover art.
It happens on most, if not all, the tracks. And it’s intertwined with the expected builds and moments of acoustic/atmospheric introspection, and some sumptuous riffage and solos. For example, Williams takes the lead for the majority of the largely very chill opener “Nervosa”, until the 7:18 mark where Freya jumps in, and the song explodes into a jangly, 6/8 canter.
Second track “The Guide” might be my favorite track, with an alluring sway early on before a shimmery bridge and eventual 6/8 crescendo at 6:07 that is truly stunning. The same sort of breathtaking light/dark structures appear in my second favorite track, “Wildfire”, an utterly perfect album closer, with riffs that could have come right off Deafheaven’s Sunbather.
The emotive “Retrace” has a surprisingly feral, urgent explosion (as does the more Opeth-inspired “Dissociate”) around the 3:08 mark, and also delivers a pretty special transition at the 6:46 mark, after a few minutes of lovely acoustics and William’s vocals. The song ends with a really emotional bridge.
How these guys aren’t on AOP, Season of Mist, Northern Silence, or Personal Records is beyond me. Wilderness is a pretty much perfect example of the genre, and they seem like a nice group of folks based on my interactions with them a few years ago.
