Buzzin Music

Wildbirds & Peacedrums – The Snake – album review

Wildbirds & Peacedrums....& a horse (Image by Jonathan Leijonhufvud)

Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ first album Heartcore was received with unanimous critical acclaim last year for its extraordinary naturalness and stripped-back instrumentation. The Swedish duo mixed a “heady brew of pagan blues, spiritual pop and ecstatic soul music” (Observer Music Monthly) to astounding results, creating a masterpiece in uninhibited expression.

This was music that came straight from somewhere in the depths of the human subconscious, and it expressed something that was somehow inexpressible by other means. Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ second album The Snake continues this affecting mix of genres to sublime results.

As The Snake progresses, the idea arises that the title may well come from the numerous skins that vocalist Mariam Wallentin and her percussionist husband Andreas Werliin shed in the form of spectacularly raw tracks throughout the course of the album.

These tracks, just like the skin of a snake, are markers of moments in time. Each one is ephemeral and each is unique. As Wallentin explains, “We only work from intuition, on instinct. We’re not looking for perfection in music, rather for life and feeling. We like to be more explosive.”

The Snake opens with ‘Islands’, on which a sort of monastic humming, recurring later on ‘Great Lines’, backs Wallentin’s Kate Bush melodies. The sparseness mixed with the raw, uninhibited nature of the vocals – they are other-worldly in their freedom – is reflected in following song ‘There Is No Light’. On this track it is Andreas Werliin’s breathtaking drumming that supports the vocals, which sound like PJ Harvey in their stripped-back aggression.

There is something spiritual about Wildbirds & Peacedrums. It could just be their dabbling in typically spiritual genres such as soul (‘My Heart’ and ‘Places’), oriental music (‘Chain Of Steel’ and ‘So Soft So Pink’), blues (‘Today/Tomorrow’) and even those incantatory pagan chants, but more likely it is the incredible way they channel expression so plainly into music. On ‘My Heart’ Wallentin sings “I’m lost without your rhythm”. An affecting and direct lyric referring to her own heart and craving for life rather than her percussive husband…

Something special happens on The Snake. It may not always be an immediately striking song like ‘My Heart’ to warm you, but there is a violence of emotion in Wildbirds & Peacedrums that is irrepressible and demands to be heard.

Wildbirds & Peacedrums are on tour at the moment. See them at the following venues:

April 1st – The Albert, Brighton
April 2nd – Arts Centre, Norwich
April 3rd – Arnolfini, Bristol
April 4th – Leadmill, Sheffield
April 5th – Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
April 6th – Dulcimer, Manchester
April 7th – The Luminaire, London