The diversity of American Protestant sects dates back to the 17th century, when English Puritans, Dutch Quakers and others fled to the New World. David Eugene Edwards, born on February 24, 1968, participated in the “traveling circus” of his father, an itinerant preacher, from childhood. At that nostalgic time, a serious struggle was waged for the souls of the flock: Nazarenes, Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans (perhaps there were only Hussites and Eunuchs with Huguenots) demanded the attention of the public. Being deeply religious from an early age, David Eugene also showed an early interest in music, watching his father’s father play the organ, forcing the enthusiastic congregation to sing along.
In adolescence, a person discovers new horizons for himself, in our case it was British music of the darkest shades. David showed extraordinary steadfastness in his faith, remaining a staunch Christian to this day, but he never turned away from his musical preferences. Even if the Joy Division vocalist turned out to be suicidal, who knows, perhaps Archangel Gabriel himself tightened the noose around Ian Curtis’ pathetic neck. In any event, a spiritual person will see the Hand of the Lord. We still have a serious conversation to have about the literary genre dubbed Southern Gothic, but the story of “Consider The Birds” by Wovenhand begins here.
Having played a fair amount of “alternative” country music, according to critics, as part of the band 16 Horsepower founded by Edwards, Edwards felt a lack of feelings of doom and utter darkness. The first album of the then-side project Wovenhand, called “Woven Hand”, was released in the same 2002 as the final “Folklore” by 16 Horsepower. By that time, the horsepowers had already ended, the collective was still writhing for some time, but soon the whole thing came out, leaving behind a cult status in the ranks of the post-Soviet intelligentsia.
Wovenhand’s debut work made a wide response among the aspiring audience. It became the basis for a ballet production. But David Eugene Edwards was already preparing something Old Testament new, deathly invigorating. At the premiere of the second record, I had to explain that the title “Considering The Birds” is a direct allusion to the Sermon on the Mount. The opening song made everything clear.
Sparrow Falls rings like an evil and inescapable statement. It’s as if no one has announced the coming of Armageddon, and people continue to live their routine. From kindergarten. Through work. To the crematorium. But the sparrow falls. And musicians are playing over a feathered corpse, and people and sparrows are falling dead, as if trying to hide from the sound of hooves and flapping wings. Hoping they wouldn’t be noticed. Don’t get your hopes up, the Lord has it all figured out.
Bleary Eyed Duty is even more macabre. You can’t help but root for one of the shooters, even though his game is lost before it starts. The transcendent chorus slowly, as if mocking, drowns the listener in a nightmare. The cooling corpse had a name. Which one? Let everyone write their own.
To Make A Ring means “to loop”. What’s happening inside the song is much scarier. The bow plays on the tortured nerves of a flayed sinner. The voice causes a rain of blood to fall on the heads and backs of the bent survivors. The throne remains empty.
Off The Cuff should sound in every modern movie. Promising him a curse and forgiveness at the same time. Washing away mediocrity and dooming mediocrity.
Chest Of Drawers is a scary tale with minimal casualties. Drawers tend to open by themselves, exposing their dirty little secrets.
Oil On Panel – the artist’s thoughts, entangled in centuries and epochs. Once he’s a Caesar, twice he’s a slave. Ancient Luxor is mentioned, then the hero asks: Yeshua, wherever you go, take me with you. David Eugene Edwards is clearly ready to take on the apostolic mission.
The Speaking Hands is the last waltz for those who will not confess. The hands are conducting.
Down In Yon Forest is the only alien song on the album, composed several centuries ago. But only now it got really creepy. Hopefully, the next “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” will add metaphysics to itself by using this song.
Tin Finger takes the listener to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, magnificent places with abandoned mines and abandoned people. It’s a devilishly beautiful thing.
Into The Piano seems like an optional sketch for the end of the album for a few seconds, but David Eugene’s voice, tearing the fabric of reality, suddenly cancels the rules of the game, bringing the music back, along with the piano.
Delight and chilling horror at noon in the middle of a cotton plantation, a sense of inevitability and the joy of recent days – this is how southern Gothic should be, this is how it was captured by the crew of the ghost ship Wovenhand under the leadership of Captain David Eugene Edwards. When you hear the creaking of the rigging outside the window, do not be alarmed, it’s just the frigate Wovenhand sailing by.
