Album Review: Hexvessel - Kindred
Reviewed by Tim Finch
As the sands of time fall, gentle guitars weep introducing the listener to ‘Billion Year Old Being’ the opening song in Hexvessel’s latest album Kindred. For seven minutes a tale is woven mixing elements of prog, folk and blues leading you into the incredibly immersive album.
Hexvessel are the mastermind of Mat McNerney who has found fame in his other outfit, Grave Pleasure. However in Mat’s timeline which has seen him form and play in a plethora of bands, Hexvessel formed a year prior to Grave Pleasure, thus this is less of a side project and more a labour of love.
Sonically Kindred is completely different from anything Mat does else where. This is Finnish folk with progressive leanings and a slather of blues mixed in for good measure. The sound has an old 60’s feel to it, probably helped by the production which seems to lean this way. There is a fuzz around the sound giving the impression you have a bit of fluff stuck on the needle of your record player. But that is no bad thing, it give a sense of feeling to the music, hand crafted in years gone by and kept in the archives until now. Of course that’s not the case, but it’s the atmosphere the band create on this recording that emits this.
‘Demian’ is the perfect example of that. A hint of folk in the style of Jethro Tull, and infused with warm blues guitar licks. The whole album is softly spoken, at times alternating pace to tell its tale and keep the listening enthralled.
If you are looking for a piece of music to relax to, to whisk you away from the drudgery of this lockdown we are under then look no further. Relax in the sun in your garden and drift away into the world that Hexvessel creates. The whole album is the ideal way to forget your worries and drift off into the progressive folk rock story telling of a wonderful recording.
'Kindred' is released via Svart Records on April 17th
