Tail-Tied Hearts
CALIGARI
Epically eclectic sounds with a folkish, gothic bent
This debut from Russian three-piece Dunwich opens with Glow - which sounds for all the world like a pumped-up take on Chris Isaac’s Wicked Game - before bleeding into the Opethian prog of Through The Dense Woods, where Margarita Dunwich’s furtive vocal plays hide and seek with the rumble’n’gallop of bandmates Anton Bronikov (guitar/organ) and Mikhail Markelov (drums). The use of synths throughout Tail-Tied Hearts adds subtle atmospheric shading to the trio’s heavy pastoralism - especially on Wooden Heart - and Dunwich’s ability to shift from spectral plaint to black metal retch is impressive. This outfit have served up a remarkably accomplished debut that bodes well for the future.