The Weeping Willows are an Australian folk and roots duo who specialise in capturing a sound embedded in the deepest parts of Americana. Their latest album weaves through the dimness of a gothic landscape illuminating the way with subtle harmonies and an exquisite acoustically driven soundtrack. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW eerily seduces the listener and possesses all the hallmarks of a small scale indie cinematic score. It's engaging, timeless and safely in the hands of the core pieces - namely the all round musical wizardry of Andrew Wrigglesworth and the melting vocals of Laura Coates. Together they skilfully deliver sumptuous harmonies and pay due homage to the traditional sound of bluegrass and old time roots.
This album will play a major part in hopefully Andrew and Laura getting the show back on the road. They have a busy schedule with many homeland dates planned and a return to the UK to play the Maverick Festival again. They form part of another high class Aussie contingent to get an invite for the country's longest established Americana festival and a chance to build on some acclaim that greeted their previous visit in 2018. Presently there doesn't appear to be any European dates around the festival, but still time to rectify.
It goes without saying that the new album will be the centrepiece of their travels in 2022. In the meantime its concise half hour presentation is ripe for anybody keen to delve into the underworld of Americana shade. From the dark undertones of album opener 'House of Sin' through to the glorious unaccompanied closer 'North Wind', two high class exponents and their assembled team take you on a journey awash with fine music and more than a touch of noir. The latter of these two songs will surely take on an extra spine tingling dimension live.
The songs pack a lot into what seems like an extended half hour. Associations do pop up from time to time, no more so than a likeness to Plant and Krauss in 'Singin' the Blues'. From a distant perspective the whole project sounds something like the Orphan Brigade would get their teeth into. There are certain moments when a small element of deviation creeps in. 'Wheels Won't Roll' has a retro country feel to it and is probably the most ear friendly track. The vocal duet format is at its most clear on 'Lonesome Now I've Gone' and Laura comes more to the fore on the accordion and fiddle laced 'Fall Out of Time'.
To aid the film score credentials a short musical prelude effectively slims the content, just before the haunting 'Bells Are Ringing in the Churchyard' enters the fray via a short unaccompanied start. A little delving reveals that Andrew and Laura are joined by their good friend Lachlan Bryan in the writing credits. No doubt there will be more collaboration at Maverick in the summer. Of the two remaining tracks 'Black Crow' is a highly crafted effort in the album's early stages, while 'Turning to Stone' adorned with some sombre string arrangements ushers us towards a fitting finale.
The Weeping Willows have definitely built on the wealth of their predisposed talents to curate another set of creatively astute songs. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW heads in a direction where you know interesting music will surface. Andrew and Laura have framed a sound and delivered a folk/Americana album as strong as you are likely to hear all year.
