Esben Willems – Glowing Darkness

 

 

Esben Willems – Glowing Darkness
Majestic Mountain Records – 2024
Rock, Punk, Alternative
Rated: ***

You might know him from his amazing drum work for Monolord. The guest spots he delivered over there years on various albums. Or from bands like Marulk and Slower. You might know him from all that mix and master brilliance he delivers through his Studio Berserk for a varied array of bands. Or you might know him from all those fun, cool, weird and coffee pictures he shares on various social media platforms. He’s around and that’s a good thing, for Esben Willems seems to be an honest and pure seeker of goodness and good music! And on Glowing Darkness we are treated to his very first solo album, totally and completely done himself, and delivered as a search through the treasure trove of all sorts of song ideas that had been lying around and he desperately wanted to record. And that’s a good thing. Often rudimentary, often jagged and choppy, the nine tracks move from personal insights to world views and across an eclectic mix of influences. Never needing to go to the Monolord sound or even stonerrock or doom. Even though there are slight touches and moments where he traipses around those genres. Not suffering from a scourge of mildness, there is a different form of extreme here, the extreme need to follow one’s instinct. And that means you can hear what Mr. Willems is thinking across dark themed music or surprisingly airy melodies. Title track Glowing Darkness perhaps being the prime example of this. Or the acoustic Fortune Teller, which makes Mr. Willems go full singer songwriter and is delivered with such finesse it makes you believe he’s a born story teller that could easily write a multitude of mini novels for this kind of music. He might have thought he needed to close the album off with a heavier tune and tone, for Across The Everything has that building vibe, which will give rise to your anticipation of something more Monolord touched, but instead it goes into the alternative nineties and stoner sound. ‘I’m Coming Home’, he sings, but from everything you heard throughout the record one must believe Mr. Willems was always home, comfortable and at ease. Showing off his eclectic interests and his righteous search for the good stuff… Out today, happy release day to the honorable Mr. Willems!

(Written by JK)

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