Sirom In The Wind Of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper
Sirom's In The Wind Of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper arrives as a slow-burning cabinet of curiosities - an imagined tradition where ritual, mortality and midnight improvisation coalesce into hauntingly detailed songs. Critics agree the trio's maximalist instrumentation and use of found and traditional instruments create a textured, timeless chamber of folk and world-music fusion, and across three professional reviews the record earned a 90.67/100 consensus score.
Reviewers consistently point to patient long-form pieces and nimble shorter sketches as the album's twin strengths. “Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Crackling Delightfully” is repeatedly praised for its chirrupping energy and cathartic climax, while “The Hangman's Shadow Fifteen Years On” is singled out for brooding, decaying grandeur; “Between the Fingers the Drops of Tomorrow's Dawn” and “For You, This Eve, the Wolves Will Be Enchantingly Forsaken” emerge as additional standout tracks critics name when asked what the best songs on the album are. Across the reviews, writers note a balance of tradition versus experimentation - improvisatory passages sit beside carefully observed melodic motifs, producing moments that feel both ancient and newly invented.
While some criticism registers as restraint rather than reproach, the critical consensus frames the collection as Sirom's most accomplished work to date: a demanding but richly rewarding listen that folds folk horror, ritual observation and textural exploration into an album deserving of close, repeated attention.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Crackling Delightfully
3 mentions
"Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Cracking Delightfully has a title like a lost Cocteau Twins B-side"— The Guardian
Between the Fingers the Drops of Tomorrow's Dawn
2 mentions
"Album opener Between the Fingers the Drops of Tomorrow’s Dawn merges repetitive, buoyant patterns on the balafon"— The Guardian
For You, This Eve, the Wolves Will Be Enchantingly Forsaken
2 mentions
"Occasional vocals, as on ‘For You, This Eve, The Wolves Will Be Enchantingly Forsaken’, veer between warmth and yearning melancholy."— The Quietus
Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Cracking Delightfully has a title like a lost Cocteau Twins B-side
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Between the Fingers the Drops of Tomorrow's Dawn
Curls Upon the Neck, Ribs Upon the Mountain
No One's Footsteps Deep in the Beat of a Butterfly's Wings
Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Crackling Delightfully
Hope in an All-Sufficient Space of Calm
The Hangman's Shadow Fifteen Years On
For You, This Eve, the Wolves Will Be Enchantingly Forsaken
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Listening to Sirom on In The Wind Of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper feels like stepping into an imagined tradition where the best tracks - notably “The Hangman’s Shadow Fifteen Years On” and “No One’s Footsteps Deep In The Beat Of A Butterfly’s Wings” - unfurl patiently, letting the smallest shifts reconfigure everything. The reviewer's voice lingers on the album's delicate melodic focus and long-form explorations, praising how “No One’s Footsteps...” takes flight and how “The Hangman’s Shadow...” broods and expands. This is, in the critic's view, the trio's best album to date, its experimental folk and electronic adjacency making its standout tracks feel both human and otherworldly.
Key Points
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The Hangman’s Shadow Fifteen Years On is best for its ominous, brooding scope and near-nineteen-minute unfolding.
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The album's core strengths are its blend of imaginary folk, improvisational interplay, and melodic sensitivity.
Themes
Critic's Take
Sirom make an album that feels like a cabinet of curiosities, textured and improvisatory, and the best songs on In The Wind Of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper underline that. The opener “Between the Fingers the Drops of Tomorrow's Dawn” sets the tone with buoyant balafon patterns and chiming lyres, while “Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Crackling Delightfully” is a gnarly, chirrupping sprite of a track that climaxes in glorious cacophony. There is deep emotion in “Hope in an All-Sufficient Space of Calm”, Kravanja’s hums and ululations making it a standout short piece, and the 19-minute “The Hangman's Shadow Fifteen Years On” proves the trio can stretch into ominous, decaying grandeur. Be brave and embrace this uneasy, intense album - these tracks show why it is for the ages.
Key Points
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The best song is notable for its scale and mood, with the 19-minute “The Hangman's Shadow Fifteen Years On” delivering ominous, decaying grandeur.
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The album’s core strengths are its kaleidoscopic use of traditional instruments, improvisatory energy, and strong textural dynamics.
Themes
Critic's Take
Širom's In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper is an exercise in imagined tradition, where the best tracks like “Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Crackling Delightfully” and “For You, This Eve, the Wolves Will Be Enchantingly Forsaken” reward patience with moments of radiant, strange beauty. The reviewer leans into long, lyrical sentences that trace how the band folds ancient textures into modern experimentation, explaining why the album's ten-plus minute pieces feel perennial and enormous. There is a measured, reverent tone throughout, noting how opener “Between the Fingers the Drops of Tomorrow's Dawn” foreshadows rites of passage and mystical visions, which makes the record an engaging listen for those searching for the best songs on the album.
Key Points
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The best song is "Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Crackling Delightfully" for its delicate opening and epic, percussion-driven second half.
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The album's core strength is its creation of 'imaginary folk' through maximalist instrumentation and minimalist arrangement.