Review: Wodorost ‘From The Depths’
From the dusty plains of Poland come desert rock trio Wodorost. I’m not an expert geographer by any measure, and I’ve never been to Poland, but my feeling is that one element of that first sentence is inaccurate. I’m always fascinated by bands that, on the face of it, deliver a type of music that appears to be out of kilter with from whence they came. Slomosa are my current favourite in the ‘genre versus origin’ stakes, but if they can deliver my favourite Kyuss-worshipping album of the last few years from the fjords of Norway, then maybe that link between sound and place isn’t as important as we might have thought.
At this point, I think it’s interesting to focus on the band’s moniker – Wodorost – which is the Polish word for seaweed/seagrass. This is important as whilst the band’s Bandcamp page describes them as desert rock there is an integral element of water to every note that they play. From The Depths is their second full-length, and they’ve taken the bold step of making it a concept album. No point in me coming up with my own explanation; here’s how the band themselves describe it, ‘A concept work symbolizing a resurfacing from the abyss, a metaphorical journey through inner exploration and recovery from depression’.
From The Depths begins with Submerged – a ninety-second introduction, the name of which is fairly self-explanatory. This then gives way to Depths which comprises of the rumbling bass, gentle fuzz-tone guitar, and an oscillating vocal line which sets the aural tone for the rest of the journey. This isn’t an album of huge contrasts, it’s a record that instead relies on (and succeeds with) subtle changes to rhythm and the slow building of themes.
The track demonstrates that Wodorost, in the main, have recorded in a way that remains truly representative of them being a trio. The first lead guitar lines don’t scream over the top of the existing guitar riff but instead rely on the rhythm section to ably underpin where the solo is going. This gives the whole album a timeless feel. From The Depths could have been handed to me as a long-lost album from some ‘80s kids trying to pay tribute to Cream or Mountain and I wouldn’t have taken issue with that.
Temple continues the tale with what almost sounds like Soundgarden at their most laid back. From the four-minute thirty-second mark Glowinski delivers a guitar part that is so lyrical that you forget that this album is without vocals for probably over 80% of its running time. Visions moves from one ‘90s luminary to another and has shades of Smashing Pumpkins in its opening few minutes, which give way to far more retro and bluesy flourishes later on. As I mentioned, these are subtle shifts in tone and tempo which work very well.
Beyond The Blue is the longest track and is really the coming together of what’s gone before. Here we also get the first of two spoken word sections which bring home the album’s themes without bluntly smashing you over the head with them, which could so easily have been the case as such a delivery demands that the listener pay attention to the message.
increasingly rewarding when you turn off the world and sink into it…
Whirl then follows and is certainly the track that you would call ‘the single’. It has more bite and condensed energy – definitely the track to send to a friend to test their interest in the band. The only track here that lost me even slightly is Reflections. I’d argue that it doesn’t bring anything new to the table, however, in bringing with it the second spoken word element it remains essential to the flow of the journey.
We finish with Dry Out; the emerging from the water and/or the retreat of the depression. On my initial listen I was almost disappointed that this track wasn’t a huge celebration or a defiance – musically speaking it didn’t have the massive dynamics I expected. In retrospect, I wonder whether I was applying a visual arts expectation to the music – when was the last time you watched a movie where the central character triumphed and gently wanders off to the next town?
This is maybe where From The Depths drives home its classic/timeless nature. If this was a Marvel universe album it would end with huge crushing power chords, but instead what Wodorost do is embrace the late ‘70s Hulk TV show ethos – right the wrong, and quietly move on. Having lived with the album for a few weeks, this approach is definitely the most rewarding in the long run.
What Wodorost have done is deliver an album that is simultaneously simple and undemanding of the listener, whilst also being multifaceted and increasingly rewarding when you turn off the world and sink into it. The liquid themes are consistent in the musical delivery and occasional vocals which marks Wodorost out as being somewhat unique within the genre.
So how highly do I rate the album overall? Well, it’s made a last-minute run and jumped into my top ten for 2023, so by that measure, pretty high. Well worth forty-five minutes of anyone’s time, and Wodorost will certainly be on my watchlist for the future.
Label: Independent
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: David J McLaren
