Wormwood is the second collaboration album of Matt Howden (Sieben) and Tony Wakeford Sol Invictus, and the last one where they used the name Howden/Wakeford, as they continued under the name of HaWthorn. The album is based conceptually on the substance Wormwood, which is referred to in the Bible (Rev. 8:10-11, see also here). Wormwood is actually a plant (Artemisia Absinthum), but in the Bible, it is pictured as a star, falling our of heaven, and poisoning the drinking water on Earth. Howden and Wakeford take the theme literally in some tracks, quoting Bible-related parts, but at other times, Wormwood becomes a symbol for the poison that courses through the veins of us all, our world, and our past.

Also, musically, the album is perhaps a little darker than some of their other material. The excellent "The Wormwood Tree", with just the vocals of both over a very faint dronish backing is a clear example of this dark sound. Besides this, there is room for catchy tracks either led by Tony's bass ("The Wormwood Season", "Thy Mother") or Matt's violin ("Brief as a Flower", "Care Sunday"), which sound similar to those on Sieben's album Sex and Wildflowers, from around the same time. Nevertheless, there is room for instrumental experimentation too, such as "The Star is Wormwood", which combines both men's exploration of their instruments of choice. This is an element that was absent from their most recent album, The Murky Brine. Needless to say, this makes the album incredibly varied, but there is also less coherence, as the mood tends to shift rather quickly from gloomy to upbeat and back again. The album ends with "Wormwood Doll", a catchy track with powerful narrative lyrics about a woman who is promised a doll child - read the title and try to guess if this ends well...

Wormwood surely shows that Howden and Wakeford are a magical combination in the world of experimental folk music, and it is highly recommended.

O.S.