Weeping Willows - After Us

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 27 / 8 / 2019

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The Swedish band that now performs and records under the Weeping Willows moniker is a different beast in many ways to the band that had success with their first album, ‘Broken Promised Land’, back in 1997. There have been a couple of personal changes although the core of the band, vocalist and lyricist Magnus Carlson, guitarist Ola Nyström, guitarist/keyboard player Niko Röhlcke and drummer Anders Hernestam all still contribute to the band. That debut owed a debt to the music of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, and it was obvious that in Carlson they had a front man who could take fit his vocals to suit almost any genre. Later releases saw the band take on a more indie rock stance while still retaining more than a hint of originality. Sometimes it felt the band was lacking direction but maybe that has, over time, proven to be one of their strengths. Taking into account their Christmas-themed releases, ‘After Us’ is the band’s eleventh album. So, ‘Snowflakes’ only featured six songs but we’ll count it in as it featured more good tunes than many a full-length album. Carlson is something of a musical chameleon. ‘A Nordic Soul’ was an album of Northern Soul that was recorded in Paul Weller’s studio in Surrey. His diversion into country music with Swedish country star Jill Johnson was another successful venture. While ‘After Us’ finds Weeping Willows taking yet another direction, it’s more because of the subject matter of some of the songs more than a radical departure from the band’s usual sound. This latest collection does look over its shoulder slightly more than their last few releases, so as a result, at times, it does have its musical roots in the past. The album artwork gives notice that the current state and worries of our planet have not gone unnoticed by Weeping Willows. It is beautifully presented in a digibook package which features striking images of a beach where few palm trees are left bending in the wind, while the shore is littered with waste plastic and other debris. Dark, menacing storm clouds are set to totally cover the small window of blue sky that fights to shine through. ‘Butterfly’ is the opening song and sets out Weeping Willows' stall perfectly - “We scrape the skies, know how to fly and learned how to build machines/The greatest things that live within, are still a mystery”, after a quoted “two million years” it appears that Carlson and co. feel we still fall far short of understanding our planet. The song is blessed with a cinematic backing. It is no surprise then that Barry Adamson (Magazine, Nick Cave, Bad Seeds, Birthday Party, numerous soundtracks as well as his own ‘solo’ albums) is involved. Weeping Willows could never be accused of delivering a basic, stripped-back sound but the input of producer Adamson has added a new angle to the band's sound. Of course, following that opening cut is a song which is from a completely different place altogether. ‘Let Go’ is a heartbreaking ballad concerning losing a close one. Touching and full of warmth despite its theme, the strings add so much colour to Carlson’s melancholy vocals. It’s a return to the cinematic feel of the opening track with ‘Save Us From Ourselves’ and lyrically Carlson is at his best - “Fools wearing crowns/There’s no captain on board/This ship is going down/Is there time to change the course?” While Adamson has made his mark on these recordings, there’s little doubt that the playing from all concerned (there’s a host of brass and string players who contribute greatly and effectively to every song on the album) is superb. We’ve come to expect only the best from Weeping Willows no matter which direction they travel in musically, but with ‘After Us’ they’ve added just that little extra dusting of magic to make their most diverse yet accessible set of songs to date. Weeping Willows have featured female singers to compliment Carlson previously. This time Martha Skye Murphy duets with the lead vocalist on ‘Tombstones’; while she brings a completely different texture to the band than previous collaborators such as Ane Brun and Anna Ternheim did her contribution is just as affecting. Again the song centres around a love lost and it’s another brilliantly played, produced and arranged track that deserves more exposure than being the penultimate song on an album will bring. ‘After Us’ is Weeping Willows' most topical set of songs to date, and once again they have slightly changed direction without the risk of alienating their core fan base. While never producing just an average album, ‘After Us’ sets a new benchmark for these guys.

Track Listing:-

1 Butterfly
2 Let Go
3 Save Us From Ourselves
4 I Travel With You
5 Judgement Day
6 Another Future
7 Endless Sleep
8 There's No Hiding Place
9 Tombstones
10 After Us

Band Links:-

http://www.theweepingwillows.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/theweepingwillows
https://twitter.com/weepinwillows

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