#Tiny witch hunter hen ogledd lyrics tv#

Mogic is released Friday 16th November via Weird World.An intoxicating mix of psychedelic and experimental sounds, past and present. The band can be praised for their boldness in attempting to create or expand on a different sound, but this time around they do fall short.

There are some nice moments of clarity that are unfortunately vastly overshadowed by the poorer moments. But Hen Ogledd have created an album that appears messy and confused. Mogic tries very hard to be different, to create a listening experience that draws you in through its unique style and overall strangeness.

The light clambering of cymbals and swooping guitar chords provide some of the most interesting and enjoyable moments on Mogic – it’s a shame that it took so long to get to. The synth that is essentially the base of the track is dreamlike, and when parallel to the voice effects is very fitting. Finally, closer “Etheldreda” is very ambient and spacey, utilising the robotic voice effect once again. “Welcome to Hell” does try to inject some form of energy into the album with a dark and gritty groove that is bombastic and loud, but it falls short by being repetitious and cluttered with too much sound. There is a sense of energy and excitement within the band, but it is definitely lost within strange production choices. Yet that’s how it is throughout the majority of the album semi-interesting pieces of production work that is overshadowed negatively by strange vocals and vague lyrics.

#Tiny witch hunter hen ogledd lyrics tv#

The layering of guitar progression in the TV On The Radio-esque “Problem Child” is neatly done, with an impressive solo to accompany. It’s just a shame that this isn’t consistent throughout. Album highlights such as “Sky Burial” and “Problem Child” boast clean production with tight guitar and bass work. In saying this, it does not mean that Hen Ogledd are without total direction. As well as this, they very rarely boast any interesting forms of production, at times appearing lacklustre. These songs don’t feel as if they serve any real purpose, and the stories in which they tell are either very vague or don’t go anywhere. It only diverts about halfway through when Davies begins monologuing about a form of spiritual experience. It’s songs like this which make you question the direction of Hen Ogledd on this album, especially with what follows in the near-unlistenable “Transport & Travel” – six minutes of a very minimal beat alongside another robotic voice talking about travelling. This vocal treatment was obviously deliberate, yet having what appears to be Davies’ vocals altered to a high-pitch while saying “Tiny Witch Hunter” subtracts from what is really impressive musicianship. It is then a complete change of pacing with a nice throbbing bassline and drum loop in “Tiny Witch Hunter” – yet this is overshadowed by the bizarre and altered vocal work throughout the rest of the song. There is a lot going on in this track, and even after multiple listens it is hard to determine what is occurring. “Dyma Fy Robot” especially, being an assortment of noises for one minute, with synths and drums meshing together over the sounds of a robotic voice. Filler tracks “Gwae Reged o Heddiw” and “Dyma Fy Robot” are in a similar field, with very peculiar production in both. These attempts at an individual sound appear on tracks such as the standout “First Date”, with Davies’ vocals alongside very colourful synths and jangly percussion sounding very much like Björk’s Post (1995) work, just without the confidence or sleek production. It is obvious Hen Ogledd are trying to achieve a very different and unique sound yet it does often sound forced rather than natural and free-flowing.

This happens quite often throughout Mogic – where instrumentation is scarce, there are often synths or sounds placed that appear out of place. Whilst it is produced very cleanly, the assortment of sounds feel out of place and don’t contribute well together. “Love Time Feel” opens the album with very spacey synths and basslines popping up throughout, along with light jangles of cymbals and xylophones. However, whilst Mogic displays a certain level of creativity, it is quite often lost in a lack of clear direction. Founded by Richard Dawson and Rhodri Davies, with additional members Dawn Bothwell and Sally Pilkington, Hen Ogledd are talented musicians as shown through their level of creativity and production techniques. Easily one of the more left-of-field listening experiences of the year, Welsh four-piece Hen Ogledd’s third album Mogic is an attempt at a diverse range of sounds that miss the mark on most occasions.