Review Summary: I go where I go
Live at Wychwood feels like a late night walk through the depths of a forest. It feels like getting lost among the trees, as the stars, twinkling light years away, feel closer than the home you wandered from. The collaborative album between vocalist Ellyn Woods and cellist Bedzvin is entirely improvised. Together, the duo craft a soundscape that is mysterious, lush and altogether inviting, even if you can never be fully certain of where it may be luring you to.
There is an inviting familiarity to
Wychwood; a consistent warmth exuding from its delicate patterns, yet never revealing a clear trajectory until the next turn down Woods and Bedzvin’s obscured path is right in front of you. In perfect harmony with the listener, the musicians might be unaware of where each lengthy song will take them, yet, every note provides a next step that seems to make perfect sense. While this logic may appear perpetually obscured, it reveals itself in the way opener ‘all i am’ is as subtle as it is expansive, providing the perfect entrance into a world of twinkling dusk. It inhales, it exhales; it takes its time to get acquainted, and captivates through its fragile mysticality.
Certain sections find Woods’ ethereal vocals guiding the record, delicately directing its music through densely detached moments, before letting go of your hand as clearings come into view. Here, Bedzvin takes over and crafts gorgeous patterns in and from silence, mastering the art of repetition among the quiet ambience of
Wychwood. Yet, the album’s most memorable moments find the duo peacefully bouncing off one another. ‘dark water’ builds on a simple, monotonous rhythm as Woods airily howls through the opaque notes. As the song ends, the musicians appear to uncover clarity and the vocalist manages to shed a dim light on her words: “Above water / Through the darkness / I go where I go”. And I’ll gladly follow, wherever that may be.
