Review : Waterglass – '...And the Bleak Shall Inherit'

WATERGLASS 

'…And the Bleak Shall Inherit' 

WATERTIGHT RECORDINGS 

Waterglass are possibly one of the slowest moving bands in the scene, they formed in 1991 and new album, ‘…And the Bleak Shall Inherit’, is only their second album.

Granted, they did take some leave in that time, but still. This isn’t a criticism as such, anyone who has their 2002 release, ‘WisdomLikeSilence’, will certainly be excited about the prospect of a new album – though their recent inactivity may make it tricky to remember them.

As the album title suggests, the music is indeed relatively bleak, but is also melodic. There are even occasional moments that the album gets a little heavy. Not heavy in a metal way, but in a tower crescendo or stark rhythms kinda way.

Perfectly accompanying the melancholic bass, the chilling keys and gloomy guitars is the haunting voice of vocalist Victoria, bringing pessimistic tones to the disconsolate soup.

What does make this a special album is that this isn’t a downtrodden shoegaze album, they’re not afraid to up the tempo and add some variety. The variation in tracks keep things interesting, but they all have a shared downcast atmosphere. The production is also lush, whilst a raw post-punk album can be excellent, the cool smooth sound on ‘…And the Bleak Shall Inherit’ makes this is all the more complete.

Worth the wait.

Posted in: and the bleak shall inherit,music,waterglass