Solanaceae by Penance Stare

Crow Versus Crow is honoured to be able to present, 'Solanaceae', the second full-length record from Penance Stare, the Gateshead (UK)-based project of songwriter Esmé Louise Newman.

Following the much-lauded 'Scrying' (2018) and 'House of Bastet' EP (2017) cassettes, this bleak and haunted recording captures Penance Stare at its most fully-realised thus far.

Previously known for her work in Melting, Commiserations, and Etai Keshiki, among many others, Esmé has spent the last two years deep in sonic exploration, developing an incredibly rich sound that, “whips together atmospheric black metal with darkwave, shoegaze, stormy ambient, and witch house… as soothing as it is intense” (Kim Kelly, Noisey).

Beautifully mastered by Stephen Bishop (Opal Tapes, Basic House, Drunk in Hell), 'Solanaceae' deals lyrically with themes of trauma, illness, ageing, neglect and regret, and is rendered with a sonic palette of heavy drum machine rhythms, degraded chamber music passages, low fidelity guitar fuzz and blurred out vocals.

With blatant disregard for the oft-perceived sanctity of aesthetic dogma, Penance Stare draws voraciously from a wealth of seemingly disparate musical sources, twisting the gothic ephemeral grandeur of Cocteau Twins, the blunt mass of industrial noise, the layered textural intricacy of ‘Loveless’ and the raw, razor thin brutality of contemporary Black Metal, to form distinctly articulate works of personal expression.

PLAY LOUD

Tracklist

1.	Our Mouths Ablur	3:33

2.	In Antique	2:12

3.	A Nest In The Heavens	2:29

4.	Graveside	2:23

5.	Amongst Creeping Cinquefoil	3:29

6.	Cradlewell (Lacrima)	2:06

7.	Solanaceae	2:47

8.	Nux Vomica	2:48

9.	The Remains Of A Wooden Icebreaker Lie Submerged	3:05

10.	Bensedin Petrichor	2:39

Credits

released January 28, 2019

Written & performed by Esmé Louise Newman

Art & Design by Crow Versus Crow
Mastered by Stephen Bishop

Recorded summer 2018

Please listen at night for best results

2019 © Crow Versus Crow, Esmé Louise Newman
2019 ℗ Crow Versus Crow

License