Review of True Widow - Circumambulation

How this band isn’t more well-known is beyond me. In a world of musical styles being constantly blended, theirs seems to be a sound wholly their own. A slight mix of down tempo grunge and what could be misconstrued as shoegaze, they manage to not only be consistently rhythmic but also, in a cerebral sense, depressing. 

After the very impressive As High As the Highest Heavens and From The Center to the Circumference of the Earth LP and the short but terse I.N.O ep, True Widow has graced us again with their wonderful third album, Circumambulation. While only eight songs long, one certainly doesn’t get the feeling of it being a short album… this is an album for contemplation.

It’s a respite from convoluted noise and it’s blanket is a cozy form of fuzz and reverb. Never picking up it’s pace or intensity beyond a combine’s pace, it’s a sound that sits comfortably in the halls of Nirvana’s “Unplugged”, USX’s “Run Thick In The Night”, and Om’s first releases. Catchy, moody, unabrasive….beautiful to be honest.

The based out of Austin , TX manages to create a very low-end melody that is punctuated by minimalist drums and the occasional buzzsaw guitar (if that buzzsaw was addicted to melatonin). There’s a sense of doom brought forth from the music that doesn’t necessarily sound harrowing but moreso a resignation of happiness that’s at once accepting and embracing.  Both the guitarist and the bassist trade vocal duties and they are expressive enough without being incredibly dynamic. They certainly never fall into the tropes of a good cop/bad chop stereotype. Very melancholic (even monotone at times) but never detrimental to their overall sound. Truly depressing and inspired by subconscious movement.

True Widow is certainly unique while at the same time sounding very familiar. No sub genres or hard to place labels here….they are themselves and that is all they should be.