And Now The Owls Are Smiling – Epitaph
Release Date: 2nd September 2022
Label: Clobber Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Atmospheric/Depressive/Black Metal.
FFO: Grift, A Forest Of Stars, Drudkh, Old Corpse Road, Rise To The Sky.
Review By: Jason James
And Now The Owls Are Smiling (AKA Nre) is set to release what he has said is the final album, Epitaph, on the 2nd of September. The name of the album is fitting, then, bringing a fitting end to a discography that includes 2019’s The Comforting Grip of Misery and 2021’s Dirges.
The lone multi-instrumentalist continues to trawl along the bottom of the sea of despair, bringing us yet another slab of desperation and despondency. Fans will be perfectly attuned to the sorrowful lamentations over funerial requiems. For newcomers to this artist, there is still a hell of a lot to gain from his output. If you revel in tales of desolation and hopelessness, over tracks of unceasing bitterness and regret, you may just have found a new focus for your sonic delectation.
There are breaks in the overwhelming dejection, though. Track 4, Winter’s Elegy Part II, is a wistful, hypnotic song with a lilting siren song of a vocal. It lifts the spirit at first, conveying how beautiful the coldest months can be. This changes as the beautiful voice then warns to keep your children indoors before Jack Frost takes them away and warns us of the death winter can bring.
Track 7, L’appel Du Vide, is also a respite from the antagonism. An echoey, insistent guitar instrumental takes your hand and calms you down before the last track, a cover of Radiohead’s Street Spirit (Fade Out), takes us on one last trip through Nre’s psyche, bringing the album to a close in impactful fashion.
I personally had never heard of this artist before, but this album is good enough that I am eager to go and check out his back catalogue. If this is to truly be the last album from And Now The Owls Are Smiling, then I’m sure his fans really will be reading epitaphs in remembrance of the artist’s work
(3.5 / 5)
