THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
Not content to just drift in the nebulous post-metal tide, Dallas trio
True Widow (Nov. 5, Will’s Pub) describe their sound more specifically as
“stonegaze.” It’s a tidy portmanteau that’s pretty accurate, if only just a snapshot of what they do.
Indeed, the music’s got the hanging, narcotic heft of stoner rock – heavy enough to be on
Relapse Records – and some textural gestures evocative of shoegaze. But in full panorama, their mood-rock is a dark, rich state of being that renders slowcore atmosphere with leaden metal gravity.
Live, they lay it on thick from some deep abyss between
Low and
Earth. It’s a very particular aesthetic, and True Widow are carving it with increasing clarity. And as the crowds confirm, they’re etching their prime status in the micro-genre even deeper with each outing.
Opening was avant-garde Philadelphia harpist
Mary Lattimore. Besides pointing her instrument in decidedly non-classical directions, her list of creative associations includes indie icons like
Thurston Moore, Kurt Vile, Jarvis Cocker and
Sharon Van Etten. Though it has the requisite gates-of-heaven beauty associated with the instrument, her playing isn’t just some easy Baroque zephyr. It’s an experimental flight using
loops, layers and effects to weave a crystalline web that’s beautiful, tense, even unsettling.
Even when things get traditionally lovely, it’s only a matter of time until the edges start to warp. And having that experience in the middle of a rock bill was a dramatic and effective relief.
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This Little Underground is Orlando Weekly’s music column providing perspective, live reviews and news on the city’s music scene.
Follow Bao on Twitter (@baolehuu)
Email Bao: baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com
This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2016.
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