Dark and blissful, desolate and hopeful, Widowspeak’s new single ‘Dog’ seems like a series of paradoxes. The indie-rock four-piece don’t sound like they come from Brooklyn at all: you’d believe they were born in the desert, with nothing but sweeping landscapes and rusted-out highway detritus to inspire them. Their self-described ‘cowboy grunge’ sound is a pure heartbreaker, that’s for sure: a slow burn between PJ Harvey’s rough-edged grandeur and Beach House’s blown-out melancholia. The band’s third album, ‘Expect the Best’, sounds like a leap forward, a quietly swaggering triumph: the kind of record you can only make when you’re becoming more and more confidently yourself. The Actress & Bishop will feel like the sorrowful Midwest by the time Widowspeak have done their work.
Fri 17 Nov, 7.30pm at The Actress & Bishop, 35 Ludgate Hill Birmingham B3 1EH £8, seetickets.com
Words: Chris Donald - Gigs Editor
Published on: Wed 1 Nov 2017