After his 2012 debut, 'En Natt Kom Doed,' which I've reluctantly missed out on, solo Norwegian musician, Erik E., returns with his sophomore release, 'Folkloren.' Despite still not getting my hands on that debut, I've been a fan and follower of Erik's work since first hearing his Windir cover back in '04, discovering his various demos shortly there after, and eventually getting my hands on the demo collection 'Origins' in '10 really solidified Weh as one of my favorite music makers. 2013 brings this new recording that's once again Erik's own brand of melancholic acoustic/dark folk styled songs, which I can say with little regret, are absolutely breathtaking.
Erik is one of those rare musicians where less is more, as usual the music chiefly consists of just Erik's voice and acoustic guitar, with the occasional light backing synth and some piano in a few select places. 'Alle morkets makter' kicks the album off on a rather doom-y funeral-ish direction, doing away with all signs of hope right from the get go. 'Dypt Går Det Siste Sår' continues the melancholy; layered singing, lovely acoustic playing and just the perfect vibe for this cold rainy day outside my window. 'Every Leaf and Branch Will Tremble' & 'Long Days of Winter' are the first songs with English lyrics, and as ever Erik pairs up some wonderful and honestly catchy poetry with his somber creations. Notably, as ever once again, Erik's voice and English pronunciation is spot on and quite marvelous really, in fact worlds better than most singers in the genre.
'I Let the Night Cover Me' features a lovely piano introduction before kicking into the main song, while 'Runer og alvekors' & 'With Omens of Sorrow' is Erik at his most despondent, especially the latter, which I enjoy quite a bit, but it just makes me think of saddening things and I almost find myself wanting to skip the song, if it weren't for the fact that it was infinitely gorgeous in its delivery I probably would. Lastly, and the lengthy final eight minute song, 'Solnedgangen' is a bit more upbeat in its overall scope, but still with that trademark dismal Weh atmosphere tucked underneath it all, which almost builds in an epic manner as the song unfolds.
'Folkloren' runs for just a few seconds over forty minutes, but not a second is wasted as every last one and each song is quite detailed and full of life from the get go. Surely a most for those that fancy any sort of downhearted acoustic music, 'Folkloren' is utterly impressive and very much recommended, especially with the gloom of autumn already set in and the eventual winter. There's long days of winter ahead.
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