Friends of Alice Ivy – The Last Days of Fenwyck

English:CD-review
  Van Muylem    1 juli 2017

Our duo from Melbourne has been hiding for the past 3 years and now unveils a new sound, a new direction. Fans of nice music like Dead Can Dance will still be very enthusiastic, so don’t worry.


Let’s first unveil something about the title: Fenwyck is a symbol of nature and its cycles: life, death and renewal. Somehow our connection with nature is dying. Music wise we hear some classic and ancient instruments whilst Kylie sings like an angel. They mix electronics with it too, without losing their original strength. The bass sounds nice, whilst we get more and more other instruments jumping in, rendering a bit something I would call an Arabic feel. The beautiful sound calms you down and makes you think about nature and returning to the original state of our planet. Blackthorn goes a bit further, deeper into the ethereal sound. Albion takes you to the stars, to a galaxy far, far away … You dream about nice and heavenly things. This is the kind of music that hits you in the most positive way. The vocals are the next big thing! You really want to applaud after each track (despite the sad stories). Wycca echants you with melancholia, whilst we hear some trip-hop (a bit like Hoover, aka the early Hooverphonic) during Rooks. Last track is Brambling: a piano-led lament, slowly building towards a climax with an angelic voice.

I must say it was somehow hard to start reviewing this one, as I got so strongly captivated by the music that I simply sat down and listened to it (whilst the repeat function was on). Our friendly duo really did a great job and it might be that they return pretty fast to the studio and even think about giving some live sets and work out a more visual aspect for their music!

The future looks bright, for sure! Enjoy!