The debut lp by Black Grove, A New Wilderness, is thrilling, emotional, euphoric, didactic, and cinematic. It charts an odyssey through, on the face of it, the physical landscape. But, as a piece, the record poses questions about the human condition in the natural world. (While reading this feature, you’ll be surprised when nature swoops down in a moment of synchronicity* that would astound Carl Jung himself.)
Introducing Black Grove
Black Grove comprises Anton Spetz (vocals and guitar), Oliver Brink (bass), Erik Hallingström (drums), Aurélie Ferrière (violin), and Andreas Lagerström (lead guitar). Prior to Black Grove, Anton and Andreas were in the loud and fierce Swedish punk/post-punk band HOLOGRAMS. Black Grove possibly represents the comedown of that sound.
Anton said: “My friends and I recorded this album five years ago. Often, when time passes after I create something, a new perspective can start to creep up on me that makes me see things in a sort of devious, new light. However, even after five years, I have a very good feeling towards this album, and I think it contains some of the best music I’ve ever written. I’m very proud to be able to share it with you.”
As Anton said, A New Wilderness was recorded some years ago. It lay in a corner gathering dust. It may have remained unreleased until critical human intervention, in the form of ST Darkers, the founder of the Fog & Lime record label, ensured it became available the public.
A connection with JA Baker
ST Darkers communicated to me that a recurring bird theme had been evident throughout the development of this record. Most obviously evidenced by the record cover.
The Peregrine
He said a quote by JA Baker really captures the atmosphere of the album:
“Wherever he goes, this winter, I will follow him. I will share the fear, and the exaltation, and the boredom, of the hunting life. I will follow him till my predatory human shape no longer darkens in terror the shaken kaleidoscope of colour that stains the deep fovea of his brilliant eye. My pagan head shall sink into the winter land, and there be purified.”
Excerpt from JA Baker, The Peregrine.
Blow me down with a feather. JA Baker lived in Chelmsford (my hometown) all his life; I can see the street he lived in as a child from my loft. Jung would be impressed for sure!
Wikipedia states: [The Peregrine] describes the author’s ten-year obsession with the peregrines that wintered near his home. The writing is lyrically charged throughout, as the author’s role of diligent observer gives way to a personal transformation, as Baker becomes, in the words of James Dickey on the book’s jacket cover, “fusion of man and bird”. The film director Werner Herzog said The Peregrine was the “one book I would ask you to read if you want to make films” and compared Baker’s prose with Joseph Conrad, no less.
Back to Black Groves LP. Check out the song titles of A New Wilderness. The parallel drawn by ST Darkus is clear. ‘Dawn’, ‘The Return’, ‘The Pendulum’, ‘Zenith’, ‘The Work’, ‘The Pole Star’, ‘Dusk’, ‘The Steppe’, ‘The Interpreter’, and ‘Nadir’. Throwaway pop ditties these are not. It’s a serious piece of work that represents a journey, a transformation, a change in state. But as Anton Spetz infers, maybe A New Wilderness marks the start of the quest.
Final thoughts
These kind of connections thrill me. A rip-roaring new album connected to classic prose. From Sweden to New York to Essex, England. Literature, music, and film. The unifying nature of art.
*Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (26 July 1875–6 June 1961) defined synchronicity as “meaningful coincidences” – the occurrence of two or more events that are not causally linked yet feel deeply significant, bridging internal psychological states with external reality.
