Genre/Influences: Neo-Folk, Chanson, Cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD. 

Background/Info: Set up in the late 90s by Kim Larsen, Danish formation :Of The Wand And The Moon: became a renowned and established formation active in the wider fields of Neo-Folk music. It took ten years for Kim Larsen to unleash a new studio album, which has been written and recorded over the past three years. 

Content: “Your Love Can’t Hold This Wreath Of Sorrow” is much more than simply an old-styled Neo-Folk album; Neo-Folk remains an important source of inspiration and often the basis of the songs, but it has been mixed with other influences. From pure Cinematographic passages to a kind of smoked Jazzy sound to some surprising 60s elements, this work is true music fusion. The songs are driven by the deep timbre of voice of Kim Larsen. The use of acoustic instruments is one of the main characteristics of the composition while some irresistible trumpet sounds/play can be heard as well. A few guests like King Dude, Martin Hall, Sarah Hepburn and Uffe Lorenzen contributed to the work as well. 

+ + + : This is an astonishing return! The album is a deeply artistic creation, which can be heard in every single detail. First there’s an impressive production of the vocals revealing the artist’s irresistible timbre of voice. Kim Larsen is a great singer for Chanson. Next there’s the music, a true artistic creation Larsen accomplished together with producer and multi-instrumentalist Mikkel Elzer. I’ve been especially impressed by the magic of trumpet sounds/play. It has something mysterious, but also sensual and perfectly suited for ‘Film Noir’. “Les Journées Sans Fin Et Les Nuits Solitaires” featuring female vocals sung (or half-spoken) in French can’t leave you unmoved. But the absolute pearl of the album is “Let’s Take A Ride (My Love)”. This is such a beautiful song; simply a magic ballad with an elevating effect and featuring great trumpet sound and an explicit 60s influence as well. Darkness becomes beautiful thanks to the genius of this artist. 

– – – : If you’re into pure Neo-Folk, you’ll maybe be disappointed, but I don’t have any minus point. 

Conclusion: “Your Love Can’t Hold This Wreath Of Sorrow” definitely is one of the best and most artistic works from the year. What a return for this artist!

Best songs: “Let’s Take A Ride (My Love)”, “Les Journées Sans Fin Et Les Nuits Solitaires”, “Nothing For Me Here”, “Your Love Can’t Hold This Wreath Of Sorrow”

Rate: 9.

Artist & Label: www.facebook.com/wandmoon 

About :Of The Wand And The Moon:

:Of The Wand And The Moon: is the Danish neofolk project Kim Larsen started in 1998. Discogs describes its melancholic acoustic music, its use of English and Danish lyrics and its pagan and runic themes. Larsen founded the German-based label Heiðrunar Myrkrunar in 2005 to release his own work.

The project debuted with “Nighttime Nightrhymes” in 1999, followed by “:Emptiness:Emptiness:Emptiness:” in 2001, “Lucifer” in 2003, “Sonnenheim” in 2005 and “The Lone Descent” in 2011. Auerbach Tonträger collected the early years on “1998-2003” in 2004.

The singles “Whispers Of The Past”, “Twilight Halo (Midnight Version)” and “Nothing For Me Here” preceded the 2021 album, which Side-Line announced in a news item on the return of Of The Wand And The Moon. The project later released “Vargqld” in 2023 and “Black Mountain Blues” in 2024. Kim Larsen discussed the album in a Click Interview with Of The Wand & The Moon published in February 2022.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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