WHITE WILLOW

Wow! I went into this album with absolutely no expectations, and White Willow blew me away handily. This symphonic prog band is also very folksy, and this can be seen in the intense flute and stunning arrangements. This album may contain the best flute I've ever heard, and that's really saying something.

The female vocals are also particularly beauteous. The thick, fairy tale atmospheres are broken by the sharp and gorgeous vox. They really balanced each other well. I was also highly impressed with the funky bass lines that give the whole album some zip and zap.

Honestly, halfway through the first track, Anamnesis, I was still confused. Suddenly, everything made sense, and the rest of the album floored me. My favorites are the aforementioned track, Paper Moon, and Gnostalgia. These tracks are simply rich, playful, and quite impressive as well on a technical basis. I'll be sure to listen to the rest of this band's discography.

This is the third album by Norwegian act White Willow, but is the first that I have heard. I know that the debut 'Ignis Fatuus' caused quite a stir when it came out in 1995, but I never got around to getting it. I am now wondering what I have missed as this is a prog album of some depth. Vocalist Sylvia Erichsen is similar to Annie Haslam, and the music comes across as a mixture of King Crimson/Jethro Tull and even Gryphon. There is a lot of space in the music, and although there are three keyboard players in the band the music is still very guitar based.

Lots of acoustic guitar (and as the press release states that this is their heaviest release I wonder what the others were like), and reflection but this is not New Age at all. Jacob Holm-Lupo (who provides much of the material, as well as playing guitars /keys) harmonises well with Sylvia, and songs such as "The Last Rose Of Summer" are a sheer delight. Definitely one to savour.

Originally appeared in Feedback #60

Three years after the very good ''Ignis Fatuus'' White Willow returned with their sophomore effort ''Ex Tenebris'', offered again through The Laser's Edge.Jacob Holm-Lupo refreshed the line-up in a significant deegree, only keyboardist Jan Tariq Rahman remained stable.New entries were female singer Sylvia Erichsen and Dødsverk/Prosessor Balthazar's bassist Frode Lia.But the biggest addition was definitely Änglagård's drummer Mattias Olsson.

This has to be one of the best laid-back Progressive/Folk Rock albums of the 90's, somewhat similar to ERIS PLUVIA and EZRA WINSTON, with a strong Scandinavian feel and some absolutely ethereal arrangements.The album is full of lush orchestrations with an incredible, dreamy and nostalgic atmosphere, that alternates between very smooth and melodic themes and darker/deeper territories.The later are mostly driven by the haunting organ of Rahman and the psychedelic drumming of Olsson, delivering a pastoral but also very cloudy mood along the lines of GOBLIN.''Ex tenebris'' is filled with some excellent Mellotron parts, calm piano interludes, medieval acoustic tunes and occasional electric textures with a strong melodic content and intense folky vibes both in the musical and vocal sections.Synths are used sporadically in a grand symphonic line.Speaking of vocals, these seem to play a major role in the album and all you can say is that they are absolutely magnificent with a crystal-clear color.The amalgam offers a fantastic result, moving, dreamy and well-arranged music full of imaginary soundscapes.

With ''Ex Tenebris'' Holm-Lupo established himself as a great songwriter and composer.Scandinavian Symph/Folk Rock with a unique atmosphere of its own and impressive lyrical moments.Highly recommended.

White Willow's fifth studio album, 'Signal to Noise', was mixed and produced by Tommy Hansen (Helloween, TNT, Pagan's Mind, Circus Maximus). The line-up features new singer Trude Eidtang (vocals), Lars Fredrik Frøislie (keyboards, electronics), Jacob Holm-Lupo (guitars), Ketil Vestrum Einarsen (woodwinds), Marthe Berger Walthinsen (bass guitar) and Aage Moltke Schou (drums, percussion). Before I get onto the music I must mention the group photo, as they are sat around the table on which is a pile of albums ? the top one of which I recognise as being 'The Day The Earth Caught Fire' by City Boy. Any band that recognises just how good City Boy were, are already ahead in my book.

Well, the band took three weeks to record this instead of one year, and have a new singer onboard to boot, but they have still managed to produce a multi-layered progressive rock album that twists and turns through many different styles yet still contains loads of mellotrons. Trude's voice has a good range, but there is an almost ethereal quality to it ? a breathiness which adds to the overall feel of what is a very strong rock band with lots of ideas. White Willow are going to be playing in the UK at the Summer's End Festival, and I know that on the basis of this album there are going to be many progheads who are going to be very pleased to see them indeed. This is good solid symphonic prog from the Seventies with loads of ideas. www.lasercd.com

White Willow is a band that I know for years but never was able until 2009 to get hold of one of their albums, is the third release from 2000 named Sacrament. To tell the truth at first spin I was disappointed, to mellow and to slow musical portions are present. After more spins the album begun to grow slowly but sure. Now I considered this release quite good even great in some parts. The combination of folk almost pastoral at times atmosphere with some symphonic passages the result is pretty much ok. Opning with a mellow tune Anamnesis combined with some edgy moments, that did nothing for my ears only from third piece The Crucible - White Willow manage to really capture my attention. Is an instruments track that beggins slowly and with mellow passaged and then after 3 min it dransforming in some killer tune with amazing musicianship and super arrangements. The flute , keyboards are absolutly killer here, very strong, the combination in a perfect mix between folk passages with some symphonic ones are top notch. Another highlight is the ending tine The Reach with some nice tempo changes from slow to more up tempo, nice breaks and the heavines is very well presented in this song, 11 min of grandious prog. In the end a very nice album, some considered their best, maybe, I only know this one and their newest one Terminal twilight from lats year and is definetly better then that one, but I do not see Sacement a truly great and inovative album, only some pieces are strong from 6 tracks only 3 are really good the rest are ok but nothing more. 3 stars maybe 3.5 in some places, anyway good album that needs attention.

With spruced-up production compared to the earlier Sacrament, White Willow's Storm Seasons finds them once again adding a generous dose of Pink Floyd to their sound, to the point where the prog folk sound that characterised their earlier works has more or less disappeared. But when you're looking at decent quality symphonic prog like this, I'm willing to overlook it. Though the album has an impressively chilly and evocative atmosphere, occasionally it ends up feeling just damp and glum like the cover art, but on the whole it's a good effort at branching out into melodic symphonic rock which will satisfy most fans of the band.

Sacrament is the album where it all came together for White Willow, with the compositional structures of the songs matching soft and mystical folk sections with more forthright prog rock outbursts. The real key to making these two halves form a cohesive whole is the consistent atmosphere between the two, which draws deeply from the dark waters of gothic rock in order to bridge the gap between the quiet and loud sections. Like The Violet Hour before them, White Willow explore a territory existing partway between Pink Floyd and All About Eve, and they bring back treasure nobody ever expected to find in such an apparently cold and barren landscape.

Difficult to define. I was worried that they'd be some of that 'High Priestess' aura to the band, but thankfully there's not.

There's more music than vocals, which is great, and I did read that the musical style was one of over-stated musical climaxes alternating between the vocal bits. initially, those 'big' moments sounded, well, big, but after continued listening they receded somewhat.

The music has a sound led more by 'background' instruments (bass or chords), rather than those of foreground dexterity (lead guitar or keyboards). It's never speedy, but that isn't a noticeable weakness, it's just their sound.

Don't expect a simple song structure, which makes them a bit forgettable! I heard the track 'Floor 67' on a demo, and thought that it had something. (I COULD remember it, at least!) Infact it probably has EVERYTHING that White willow offer, and it remains the best track on the album. That said, the album is still a worthy purchase. The sound and preformances are first- rate.

The information on the CD creates a first. I can't read ANY of it. No, not one bit! The writing's too small, italic, and coloured. Damn computers! Please remember, words are to COMMUNICATE, not to look pretty. Alas.

So, there we go. i just don't think it gets into the 4 stars, but it's an okay effort, and I might be tempted to try their earlier stuff.

White Willow's debut album presents a compelling blueprint for their future sound but doesn't quite bring everything together to deliver the goods. The band's enthusiasm for incorporating the folky elements into their music makes them one of the most pastoral-sounding bands that ever drew inspiration from Trespass-era Genesis, and the vocal talents brought together on the album are charming, but tighter production and more compelling songs could have pushed this sound to the next level. As it stands, it's a decent enough album for those already keen on White Willow's brand of pastoral symphonic prog, but it doesn't quite succeed as well at establishing an atmosphere as some of their later work.

White Willow's "Terminal Twilight" is a Gothic winter album that is more concerned with beautiful and ethereal atmospheres than complex virtuosity. The vocals are delightful by Sylvia Skjellestad and there are some very good tracks on this album.

'Hawks Circle the Mountain' begins it with a bright, upbeat energy and exquisite synths from Lars Fredrik Frøislie. The vocals are very nice, sweetly sung with passion by Sylvia. The guitars are dynamic played so well by Jacob Holm-Lupo.

'Snowswept' fetures atmospheric sounds and ethereal vocals. The synth pads create ambient, dreamy, Icelandic glacial scapes. The beautiful vocals are so mesmirising; "they are calling in a white out all the experts on tv" and later she sings "but they do not know what scarecrow whispered in my frozen ear" and my favourite phrase "I will stay with him in the snow swept in". The music builds to a louder multi tracked vocals

'Kansas Regrets' features the vocals of Tim Bowness who sings softly with an acoustic. Later there is a duet with Sylvia, and very sweet harmonies. The flute of Ketil Vestrum Einarsen is lovely and the odd percussion works well. This is a a ghostly soundscape, evoling the solitude of a lonely white beach during a winter storm.

'Red Leaves' begins with eerie piano joined by Sylvia's vocals that are a little like Bjork here in the first section. There is a very lush interlude in the middle with 70s keys and majestic vocal intonations. I like how after a lengthy ambience Sylvia comes in and augments the soundscape beautifully. Nice percussion accents from Anglagard's Mattias Olson and good to hear him still drumming progressively. Very strong lead break like Andy Latimer, melodic and soaring.

'Floor 67' has gorgeous flute in intro and reverb guitar, as Sylvia sings phrases such as "like a lost and lonely beast", and "floor 67 where you and I sleep". I can hear the Swedish accent strong again, separating her from other female vocalists fronting prog bands that have been coming out in droves lately. The keyboard is very good, with 70s retro sounds, fizzing and burbling. A duel keyboard is heard over a twin guitar harmony. The music takes a detour and becomes quite jazzy for a moment, there is even a feel of dissonance but then it is drawn back in with a synth solo. Finally the wall is broken with a minimalist piano and floating flute lines. It builds to a loud sound with choral nuances and searing lead guitar, tinkling cymbals and then it builds again with heavier guitars. Sylvia comes in quietly over acoustic vibrations and a warbling keyboard. It takes a few twists and turns into some symphonic landscapes and has a superb finale. Wonderful, and best track here for me.

'Natasha' has Celtic flavours helped by woodwind synths and lingering multi layered intonations with beautiful harmonies. It is an instrumental that evokes wintery snowy mountains and desolate snow capped hills in a grey sky. The imagery is part of the music and it is haunting.

'Searise' is a 13 minute epic track with labyrinthine structure and emotive mood changes. It tends to crawl along patiently and ominously for a while until we get to the verses and a terrific keyboard solo as Sylvia's voice becomes another instrument. The percussion is tremendous and the keys and guitars ascend higher to a key change. There is a fracture in the rhythms and flute echoes with achingly beautiful phrases over a soft guitar. This is flautist Ketil Vestrum Einarsen's shining moment of the albyum. The quavering Hammond sound is spine tingling adding such a majesty to the sound. There is a section with twin guitar and drum roll percussion that is very effective in building tension and then it is released with a huge wall of sound with voclas, scorching guitars and sustained key pads. The bass is important too in bringing the sound together, played well by Ellen Andrea Wang. The instruments are brought down as a guitar tinjers and a low drone is heard joined by angelic choral keys to end this magnificent track.

Last song on the album is a short piece to bring closure. Steve Howe soundalike guitar harmonics on acoustics in the intro are nice, and then an acoustic flourish with intricate finger picking as a ghostly sound is heard by Sylvia's multi tracked vocals. It is beautiful and really has emotion and power.

Also the front cover is quite a captivating image of two girls in white huddling or cowering in fear by some unseen force coming toward them. Or they may be looking at us in fear as they have been caught in secret. Obviously the music is completely non-analogous to this image as it centres on the end of the world and wintery dreamscapes. It is one of those albums that is open to interpretation but the tracks do indeed seem to follow a theme though it is vague purposely to leave the subject open to conjecture. So I was impressed with White Willow's album. The music is ambient, symphonic and haunting. The musicianship is excellent. The lyrics are compelling and Sylvia is definitely an enchanting vocalist. I think many prog fans will enjoy this album as much as I have.