SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOSEPHINE WIGGS – WE FALL

Josephine Wiggs
We Fall
The Sound Of Sinners

Josephine Wiggs has given us a soundtrack to our youth with her work in The Breeders. Her musicality and alt-rock writing really changed things, specifically for women-fronted bands in the ‘90s. They were not only a force to be reckoned with fame wise, but they took the genre that had already been defined and redefined it yet again. Now having said that, her new album We Fall has yet again redefined albeit a lesser-known genre.

Upon my first go-around with the album, I listened and immediately felt a sense of beauty, grace, and well, sadness. However, unlike grief wave bands of today, this album is producing real emotion by using sound in a completely new way. These songs (which have a very soundtrack ambient quality) prompt investigation. They are everything at once – surreal, quiet, meditative, and at times hiding in plain sight. Some would make comparison to Harold Budd or Robin Guthrie. Sure, both of those greats are sparse and ambient music makers. Josephine’s work is something different all together. Each song flows seamlessly, creating a quiet and foreboding sense of peace. It is like taking a walk in an unknown forest and noticing all the sounds around you. In today’s modern world we never stop and listen. These pieces make you listen and specifically investigate the songs’ sounds and the world it is creating. Standout tracks for me are “In a Yellow Wood” and the title track “We Fall”. This album makes one think of nature and ask the question: is nature on our side here or not?

Artist Links