EP REVIEW: Herbal Noise – Hadewijch
HADEWIJCH are a French three-piece, who were formed last year. The band take their name from the 13th century poet and mystic, Hadewijch of Brabant; an exile, wanderer and visionary, who reflected on the nature of God’s love. Their self-styled strain of ‘Herbal Doom’ is an attempt to differentiate themselves from the glut of stoner doom; their message is one of healing, positivity, and the celebration ancient botanical knowledge, rather than red-eyed intoxication. Herbal Noise is the band’s debut EP, which will be released on cassette via the boutique Electric Valley Records.
The botanical illustration of salvia officinalis (sage), set against an off-white background, establishes the tone: minimal, elegant, and wholesome. Herbal Noise features just one track, the twenty-minute Salvia, which was tracked live in the studio. Accordingly there’s an earthy and raw quality to the production, which stops just short of counterfeit vintage warmth. However there are some tropes which HADEWIJCH cannot go without, and Herbal Noise is largely defined by the dense, saturated sound of over-driven tube amplifiers. Salvia begins with germinating feedback and pick-scratching grit, eventually giving way to a burgeoning riff, which is potent and meditative. There is just enough of a rhythmic dynamic between members to nourish the listener before the track collapses into its dreamlike interlude, defined by idling amplifiers and reverb-drenched vocals.
It’s hard to place the atmosphere which HADEWIJCH create: not sinister, nor foreboding, but heady and pensive – the sense of something coming to life. Salvia accelerates into an explosive refrain, before soft-psychedelic soloing carries the track into its intense conclusion. Effects play off one another against a backdrop of free-form drumming – a cathartic release from the song’s carefully measured approach – and all too soon Herbal Noise is over. There’s an almost cyclical quality to the piece, with just enough variation to merit consecutive listens, which is an impressive feat for any band’s debut.
HADEWIJCH bring a long form, post-rock sensibility to the well-worn doom metal sound, and they do it well. Herbal Noise manages to do something fairly original while being reassuringly familiar, and with the utmost quality to boot. A botanical manifesto and an impressive debut, which will garner them an early following, no doubt – we’ll be eagerly looking forward to seeing what HADEWIJCH do next.
Rating: 8/10
Herbal Noise is out now via Electric Valley Records.
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