Having recently filmed Thus:Owls for a forthcoming session, and included them on our Acid Folk Mixtape, it seemed only right we revisited their immense, emotional and quite frankly excellent record ‘Cardiac Malformations’. The Swedish band, fronted by Erika Alexandersson and her spine-tingling tones, released the record back in 2009 – and once more Rewind takes us back to fill in the gaps.

The songs here are like mazes, journeys, fragmented yet flowing tunes – boasting moments that span from the cinematic to the Jazzy and breathless – all via an atmospheric, folk-infused spirit. ‘Climbing The Fjields of Norway’ (no that isn’t a spelling mistake) opens with a singular bassline and Alexandersson’s wavering vocal, soon traversing through a series of  warbling passages and pounding percussion. The solemn ‘Let Your Blood Run’ is an earthy plea among darkness and beauty whilst ‘You Arose to the Gods’ is a slow, piano-crawling piece surrounded by clattering, and mounting noise. In fact each and every track here is a multi-layered story, winding its way through melancholy and emotion in a unique style.

As an album it feels like every note, riff and moment has been carefully constructed to create an atmosphere and ambience, epic tones and intimate sounds weave and wander side by side. ‘Cardiac Malformations’ is an album as demanding as it is rewarding, which is to say this is music made with thought and care – something we could do with more often.