'Violet Cries' is the debut album from Brighton based gothic indie rock band Esben and the Witch. Magically combining elements of drone, electronic and experimental sound collages, the band have drawn comparisons to the likes of Portishead and The XX. The dark and swooning landscape they have created on this record is bewitching and heartbreaking. It also includes the single 'Marching Song'.

Dec 2010

Since forming in Brighton in 2008, Esben and the Witch have forged a sound that springs forth from minds soaked in influences far and beyond any standard set of musical touchstones. Nature and literature, art and science, history and the unknown – the trio eschews the everyday for inspiration drawn from sources weird and wonderful, as well as the occasional Scott Walker and PJ Harvey record. And the results?

The results have been excellently received. A demo-cum-EP, '33', was sold at gigs and distributed online, leading to coverage from British broadsheets to US blogs. Esben followed this early success with a split release on the Dance to the Radio label, contributing the track 'Skeleton Swoon' to a 12” in the autumn of 2009, and their first official 7" single, 'Lucia, at the Precipice', was released through Too Pure in February 2010. Both limited-edition vinyl releases sold out in no time at all.

And what do they sound like? At some stage of their ascent, a single soul deemed this distillation of pointed beats, percussive drama and ethereal atmospherics "nightmare pop". But the band would rather you dreamt up your own terminology, just as they have sought to establish a new sonic vocabulary through which to express their innermost emotions.