Weh – Ingenmannsland

[schema type=”review” name=”Weh – Ingenmannsland” description=”Label: Soulseller Records” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2015-12-04″]

Weh is a Norwegian acoustic project created by Erik Evju in 2002. The project is all about that dark and atmospheric feeling. So far, this one-man project has released a few demos and 4 full-length albums with the 4th one being the latest record “Ingenmannsland”, which is out this month! I also have to point out an interesting fact about this project; in early 2004, Mr. Evju was asked to contribute to a Windir tribute album by the remaining members of Windir as tribute to the death of Windir frontman and founder Terje “Valfar” Bakken. This made me curious about the album and the project even more!

“Ingenmannsland”, which means “No Man’s Land” in Norwegian, is a simple yet beautiful record. My first thoughts about this album were that it’s filled with emotion, thoughts and feelings and it makes you wonder what one person can accomplish with a simple style. Furthermore, the lyrics are both in Norwegian and English; I personally found the Norwegian songs even more magical. “Intethet” as the first song made me wonder more about the album as it reflects the style of the project – ‘dark and atmospheric’- really well. On the other hand, the other Norwegian song “Der Lå Et Hav Av Ild” is purely instrumental and will take you to the North for sure! Now this does not mean that the English songs are dull; as a matter of fact, they sounded even progressive and different but I like the natural feeling in these neofolk records so my favorites are definitely those Norwegian songs.

Generally, the record is dark and melodic. There is this atmosphere that will be felt throughout the album and which also builds the essence of the project’s sound. Some songs carry that neofolk-ish spirit and I really liked the record at those moments! A great example of this is “The Great War.”

Despite of these beautiful aspects of the record, I think that a little bit of diversity would be even better. Diversity, in my opinion, does not mean more complexity but one can stay simple in the style (like with this album) and create even more emotion and that’s what I would love to see in this project in the future. Nevertheless, I loved the natural and the dark/atmospheric aspect of the record!

Tracklist: 01. Intethet 02. The Second Sight 03. Old Stars Of The North 04. The Oath 05. Der Lå Et Hav Av Ild 06. Night After Day After Night 07. Ingenmannsland 08. The Great War

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