Wednesday 16 December 2015

Wucan - Sow the Wind, album review



Universal German

Third track Looking in the Past on this debut album by German band Wucan does the succinct work review-wise, and to extend just a tad, the band would seem to have found what they were searching for music-wise.

It is more universal retro-rock, prog leaning, and informed most by the powerful singing of Francis [no surnames provided,for example, on the band’s Facebook page]. She plays flute too, though this isn’t generally in the Tull-rock vein and more a folk accompaniment at times. The heaviness is tempered by a melodic core, a fine example in fourth track, the seemingly self-referencing Face in the Kraut, though there is heaviness ultimately in the searing lead guitar provided by Tim.

Fifth King Korea presents some extended jamming, the flute and guitar powerfully at work here, and again Francis’ vocal such a potent force, until slowed more balladically near the end [for linguistic info – spellchecking the non-word ‘balladically’ produces ‘balsamically’]. For more apt linguistic referencing, the final track Wandersman is the longest at 15 minutes, and is sung in German, the consonantal impact of this language mirroring well the krautrock of its playing, flute again fluttering throughout, the vocal intertwined with distortion and echo and operatic rises and guitar, pumping bass provided by Patrik. Drumming is a movable non-named feast, just to create mystery. This is a psychedelic romp from the past where ‘looking’ is through that distant but beautifully distorting lens, a spoken Germanic narrative adding to the unknowing for this listener, though it sounds, from the eventual screaming, occult-ish, another generic element pulled from long ago. A great track.


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