Audio By Carbonatix
Steve Visneu
Dallas’ own True Widow has, well, basically come out of nowhere in the past couple months to fill the surprisingly heavy void within the city’s shoegaze/slowcore/dirge-rock scene–and fill it quite capably, thanks.
We reviewed the band’s just-released self-titled debut a few weeks back, and for what it’s worth, my take on the record doesn’t line up with Jesse Hughey’s review. Don’t get me wrong; I see what he’s saying. This is a heavy, slow-moving, and, at times, crushingly brutal record. If you aren’t ready for it, you’re gonna need a break before finishing.
But I actually see that as a strength of the disc. When I saw True Widow at The Cavern a few weeks back, I had the same experience, in a sense. I was watching the show, fairly close to the stage, but after a bit, I just had to walk away from the brutality of the loud, loud music. Y’know, just to regain my bearings and put everything back in perspective. There’s nothing wrong with that. And there’s nothing wrong with a record you have to digest slowly. Especially when there’s some real gems spread throughout, like the one after the jump, which the band has generously allowed us to offer us as a free download…
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Like it? You’re not alone: College radio stations are digging the track, too. Earlier this month, True Widow’s record popped up at No. 16 on CMJ’s Top 200 Chart, just behind acts like The Cure and Of Montreal, and just ahead of acts like Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos and Dead Trees.
Want more? OK. Download a few more tracks here. And catch True Widow at the Curtain Club Thursday night for the annual Elm Street Tattoo Christmas party. —Pete Freedman
