True True Widow

Momentum is in True Widow’s favor. Three full-length albums deep into their musical journey, their trajectory remains in an upward direction. Fittingly, the rate in which they’re making this ascent is at the speed this band does best, slow to medium paced. If forced to make comparisons, True Widow’s sound seems to lie somewhere in the middle of a Dylan Carlson, Jesse Sykes and Baroness triangle. Meaning that you will find heavy-handed riffs, rhythmic, consistent and restrained drum patterns with shimmering cymbals, and vocals more spoken than sung. Within this construct of sound full of dark atmospherics and glittering subtleties, it’s almost surprising how very groove based the music becomes when they discover a riff or a pattern. Consciously or not, feet, fingers and head will be tapping and bobbing along with the majority of their songs.   

Even though each individual song has it’s flourishes and climaxes, True Widow’s previous albums taken as a whole come across as monolithic slabs of slow, plodding dirges with vocals that live deep in reverb and indifference. Circumambulation, their third and latest offering, finds the band going ever so slightly in a different direction. By no coincidence, this record also finds True Widow on their biggest label yet- Relapse Records, a metal powerhouse with a Schwarzenegger-like distribution arm home to the early catalogs of stoner metal heavies like High On Fire and Mastodon. Now in the hands of an established company, True Widow appears to be showing their hand in trying to reach a larger audience. It could be said that their once glacial pace is starting to feel the effects of global warming. The majority of songs on Circumambulation find a decent pace which build to an almost quickened tempo at times. Vocals are out front just a bit more with guitarist/vocalist D.H. Phillips and bassist/vocalist Nicole Estill harmonizing quite a bit esp. over two of the poppiest songs of this album and their career, “H:WR” and “Lungr”.

The key to taking advantage of this larger pool of ears is in the hands and vocal chords of their female lead, Nicole Estill. Her extra dimensions, while always a part of their sound from record one, seems to take flight on Circumambulation in particular. The aforementioned “Lungr” and “Fourth Teeth” are standout tracks that spotlight Estill’s contributions even though her background and shared vocals and ethereal yet solid bass lines lift the entire album. The longest song “Trollstigen” finds itself right in middle of this nine track album serving as the slow, chugging core of Circumambulation. A song that also features Estill on lead vocals, an airy distant quality to her delivery, amongst a very laid back melody that tends to find it’s heavy footing at all the right times. This song may be the essence of True Widow, a construction framed out of drummer Slim Starks unique understated, consistent style complimented by the guitar and bass interplay of Phillips and Estill creating a stringed blanket of sound in which handclaps, keys and effects easily find their way under. The reverbed vocals floating over the top in either a drawn out, subdued male voice or an otherworldly, confident female voice. The juxtaposition of these two voices together create the band’s most transcendent moments and may be what eventually gets them to their desired location on the rock ladder of success, the rung where art supports life instead of vice-versa.

While Circumambulation is an interesting album name on its own, the meaning behind this title may be the biggest indicator of the contents of this album and this band’s intended direction. Webster’s (or anyone, really) defines circumambulation as “to circle on foot esp. ritualistically”. Wikipedia, the people’s encyclopedia, defines it as “the act of moving around a sacred object or idol”. Both definitions seem to imply- if not ooze- religious imagery or, at least, ceremonial and sacrificial actions. In this case, actions are done repeatedly in a repetitive pattern for a duration based on strength of body and soundness of mind. A concept that any band on its fourth release (3 lps and 1 ep) with a few tours behind its belt must feel some kinship. Their rock muse at the center of their literal and figurative circles, always respectfully aware of its placement as it determines their trajectory.

True Widow is a band that has day jobs. Through some online research, it can be determined that guitarist D.H. Phillips is a furniture making carpenter by trade and bassist Nicole Estill is a make-up artist for TV and stage productions. Slim remains mysterious but I would imagine he is roughly in the same boat. This fact seems to have made touring inconsistent and in blocks. Mostly European jaunts that last about a month or opening for other bands in the US for a few weeks at a time. In this way, True Widow may be a band that defines true independent musicians in this day and age. Having a promising future in the music industry has to find its place in a full life fighting for equal time, energy and resources with other careers, responsibilities and demands. Thinking about this, it becomes obvious that True Widow exists out of a deep-seated drive and passion to keep a dream alive. Mind you, a dream that has received validation as exemplified by their journey from a small, local Dallas label to the upper echelon of non-major label life in just under six years. Along the way, honing their sound, skills and details of their craft so that each new lp is more confident and open than the last.

While a competent studio band whose songs have a gracefully layered and sculpted sound, True Widow has also come a long way in their live sound. The feats of the studio create recorded heights dependent on atmosphere and a certain thickness in texture which can be hard for a rock trio to recreate in a live setting. At a small club in Brooklyn a few years back on True Widow’s tour for their second album, As High As The Highest Heavens…, their live sound was battling a spotty PA and board and they were being absolutely bloodied. Off key harmonies, thin guitar sound and pacing issues were enough to disappoint even their biggest fans. As a first timer to their live show, it nearly destroyed my interest in True Widow. However, the records kept bringing me back erasing that show from my mind. So much so, that I ventured out to see them again this past year opening a sold out Chelsea Wolfe show at the much bigger Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan. While I’ll never be sure if that first show in Brooklyn was a failure due to the venue, an off night by the band or if they just weren’t a great live band at that point, the Bowery show was a revelatory 45 minute set where execution finally met expectation. It was a show that was confirmation of a band becoming whole, of a band maturing over time and slowly but surely still climbing with plenty of road ahead.