REVIEW: Cwfen - Sorrows

 Once in a while, there’s a band that comes along that just seems to get everything right. It’s quite extraordinary to see, and it doesn’t happen often. Sometimes, just sometimes, the combination of aesthetics, sound, and lyrical content are done with such hermetic care and enthusiasm that the results are, as scientists say, self-evident.

Meet Cwfen, the latest edition of this phenomenon.

Hailing from Glasgow, these Scots bring some more of that branded septentrional reverbing that’s so prevalent up north in the form of “doomgaze,” a genre that already has a few adherents. Cwfen are Mary Thomas Baker on bass, Rös Ranquinn on drums, Guy de Nuit on lead guitar, and Agnes Alder on vocals and rhythm guitar. Theirs is a story of quick success. What started as a darkwave project turned into a fully realised outfit over the course of two years. On stage, their presence is electrifying; with Agnes’ chillingly raw vocals soaring over Guy’s doom/post-punk-y riffage. Agnes is usually in dramatic stage attire, blackening her eyes and wearing all manner of stage getups all in the name of enhancing their larger-than-life aura. It is altogether arresting and charming, leading to a sharp uptick in interest both within the local scene and across vast reaches of the internet. It’s still early days for Cwfen, and who knows, you may be seeing this article in the far future looking back to see how things were prior to the release of your favourite band’s first album, so to make it easier: as of right now, it certainly seems that this group is headed for great things.

Their first LP is entitled Sorrows - an apt name, as this album is like an elegy (or a coronach). There are many sorrows that encompass this album: social justice, struggles with identity, self-determination, and the anger that results from wanton injustice. It is a dreamy reflection of the ills of modern society as seen through the eyes of Cwfen. It makes for a dark listen.

The first track is one of the three ‘Fragments’, experimental tracks that run through the album and act as segues that utilise hypnotic sounds, backmasking, and other such Beatles-esque ‘White Album-isms’. It then bursts through with the first full track, ‘Bodies’. Drummer Rös Ranquinn enters in with a crash before sallying out on a 16th note groove that lends the song its slow but deliberate pace. Agnes calls to some terrifying feminine god in the black ether, “howling into the void”. The single cover for this track is similarly striking, portraying a woman with her guts splayed open in a distinctly yonic look. While the track is predominantly Agnes’ more subdued soft singing style, it ends with her harsh vocals as raw as blue steak. More distorted ambience leads into the distinctive riff of ‘Wolfsbane’.

Sounding like the crossroads between New Order and Slayer, Guy’s tone is self-described as “when you plug a cold instrument into a warm amp”, which stands as a suitably apt description, given the bitter chill and warm resonance his strings provide simultaneously. ‘Wolfsbane’ is a more animated song than its predecessor; the imagery is violent and provocative - “the men have had a thousand years to make us quiet wives”. It’s the bitterest of revenge songs; seven minutes of ice-cold riffage describing a group of were-witches tearing their abusers into shreds and drinking their blood. What’s not to like? This group must really love backmasking, because the lead-up to the next track ‘Reliks’ is once again in reverse. The riff for this one is more subdued, as are the vocals for the most part. Though Agnes’ vocals still cut through, the chorus features some powerful delivery (“I don’t wanna die like this!”) underpinned by the low riff marching on alongside the drumline. Once again it crescendos out with soft and harsh singing in glorious dis-harmony as the musicians kick it up a notch, whereby Agnes then performs a spectacular rallying call before they let the feedback screech them out.

‘Whispers’ begins with a slow, reverb-ed up drum intro, sort of like ‘When The Levee Breaks’ on a ketamine binge. The riff is magnificent in its post-punk finery, as Mary Baker’s bass also yields some serious gravitas for the song through its pounding echo. As for the vocals, well, they’re subdued again, to be expected for a song called ‘Whispers.’ Agnes is in her natural low register here; it’s a sultry style of singing that, alongside the riff, renders this number as thick as tar. There are obvious Type O Negative comparisons that could be made here, but this song sounds far more like something from Lana Del Ray’s ‘Born To Die’ if she swapped out Gatsby for Lovecraft. As well as that outro, the blackened screaming complimenting the softer vocals sets this one perfectly.

After another ‘Fragment,’ there’s that slow-burner that exposed so many people to this band; ‘Penance’. A tom heavy beat and that diabolical riff make this one swing low like one damn sweet chariot. It is fiendishly heavy. Agnes’ screams, ripe with righteous indignation, render this one the most intense cut on the record. It’s cathartic, in a way. That final “assemble the penance” sends shivers down the spine. Chilling stuff. One last ‘Fragment’ of the stormy highland variety leads into ‘Embers.’ The riff here is Big Country on morphine, placed upon a sorrowful chorus with a pleading Agnes asking, “do you want to start another fire?” The passion is palpable throughout, both beautiful and haunting in its ethereal elegance, whilst the bounding main riff juxtaposes the beauty with ruggedness, a love that can never be in a society that will never allow it. Laced with longing and fury in equal measure, the song has a biting emotional core that stays with you. Then comes the final song, ‘Rite’, a number on self-determination and the ability to choose the right to die. The overlaying textures result in a chorus toward the end where a crescendo for the song, or the entire album, slowly rises until it reaches a breaking point. And once it abruptly ends, you’re left aching for more.

Cwfen’s Sorrows is far more than just an impressive debut; every track serves the broader emotional and thematic architecture of the album: the fragmentation of self, the ritual of mourning, the endless struggle for power and personhood. These are not incidental themes; they’re woven into the songwriting, the pacing, and even the thematic choices deliberately. What makes Sorrows really stand out is its temperance. Cwfen are unafraid of wading into doom metal territory when the need arises, they don’t rely on genre tropes as crutches but instead elect to use them as they see fit, shaping doom, shoegaze, goth, and post-punk into something coherent and uniquely theirs. They never seem to venture too far into one territory, instead managing a delicate balance that keeps the listening experience fresh. The band’s chemistry is palpable across every track, and their interplay feels rehearsed - not in the mechanical sense, but rather in the way of artists confiding in one another and the world they’re building. The album is heavy. Sonically, emotionally, thematically, but never inert. It moves. It builds. Each song is a departure from the other and all feel independently realised. And it ends not with resolution, but with fissure. That final gasp of ‘Rite’ leaves you hanging in a sacred silence.

In the ever-bloated digital necropolis of releases, Sorrows feels alive. It's not trying to be everything to everyone. It’s specific and intentional in its vulnerability. There’s an unspoken confidence here, for a debut it carries the assurance of a band that already understands their voice, not as a gimmick, not as a PR marketing strategy. It feels more like the product of people who’ve spent much time figuring out their identities and experimenting with them, pushing against genre expectations, and then ultimately finding something that resonates deeply - something unafraid to be itself. Music for music’s sake.

Cwfen have made something that demands attention, and suggests longevity in the years to come. If, given time, the band can expand upon the sounds established in this debut release for their sophomore album, then you can expect to witness how far this genre can go. Watch this space.

Score: 9/10

Sorrows will be released on May 30th 2025 via New Heavy Sounds.

Words: Kiarash Golshani

Photos: Marilena Vlachopoulou