“Kalopsia” is the debut full-length of Crows-An-Wra from Cornwall, which are according to the band “9 new tracks of spacey prog screamo”. The record has been released through a collaboration of five different labels.

The first thing, which occurred to me, is the artwork of the cover. Just like the foregone selftitled EP, the cover was created by Justin B Nelson and features a colorful abstract painting, whereat colors and shapes have a strong resemblance to those seen on the EP cover. One might think that it’s a cut-out from the demon of the EPs cover, showing a different perspective. I really like this idea.

The record starts with a one-minute long intro, which also is the title track of the album. “Perseus” connects fluently, capturing the sound of the intro. After a few seconds, spacy guitars and a mighty Bassline combined with vocals and drums take over, creating an atmosphere of departure. The next track on the LP “Vibrant Colours” starts off in a furious manner. Fast and distorted guitars shredding all the way until alternating screaming and spoken words break through the wall of sound. On to “Constraint In Secrets”. This one offers some spoken vocals too, flanked by frazzling guitars and driving drums while the follow-up “Dismay! The Seconds Slow” fascinates with Indie-ish melodies. The song “Heavy Heads” is characterized by beautiful female vocals, which are accompanied by the sound of an acoustic guitar. After two minutes, “Blossom” breaks through the calmness. Smashing drums and twinkling guitars relieving the lullaby-character of its forerunner. From now on female vocals and rough screams are combined to a beautiful chant, building the highlight on this amazing album. Although the last two tracks are easily overshadowed by the brilliant interplay of “Heavy Heads (i)” and “Blossom (ii)”, they mark a good closure to an overall beautiful sophomore full length album.

You better listen to “Kalopsia” if you haven’t already.