Violet Cries starts like all great albums should, with a colossus of an opening before ‘Argyria’s’ swelling catharsis violently disperses to reveal the lost naked vocals of Rachel Davies. And this is how Esben & The Witch present themselves from then on, initial bold rushes of electronic driven tumult finding refuge in the darkness. They slip elusively among the shadows of their noir-gaze; ‘Marine Fields Glow’ and ‘Hexagons IV’ hide away where ‘Marching Song’ strides brashly into view, howls of loop and delay filling every last space. With ‘Violet Cries’, Esben & The Witch have confronted their considerable hype head on and fiercely overcome it.

Simon Jay Catling