David Eugene Edwards, otherwise known as the mind behind 16 Horsepower and Wovenhand, released his first solo album on Sargent House last week, made with producer Ben Chisholm (Chelsea Wolfe, The Armed, etc). Hyacinth is most reminiscent of Edwards’ mid-era work, such as Mosaic or the experimental Puur album, resting heavily on the mixture of his stark banjola-and-voice compositions and the dense atmospheres that fill the voids between them. It’s an adventure through bleak Americana and suffocating ambiance, and from its eleven tracks is closer “The Cuckoo,” whose music video is debuted below. Featuring desolate horizons, Edwards himself performing in a cabin, and harsh sunlight, Edwards’ sound equivalent to the late Cormac McCarthy dances in the middle ground between European gothicisms and the ruggedness of the American West, exemplified by this video.
“Hyacinth was a sort of vision,“ Edwards says. “A dream. I sought out of my old wooden banjo and nylon string guitar a hidden path. Secrets they had kept from me within themselves all these years, and created a new Mythos to myself of philosophical and spiritual ideas or concepts.”
“Overall, I guess the album is a weaving of narratives ancient and modern, of humankind’s search for understanding of this world we find ourselves in and of each other. In all its simplicity and complexity,” he continues. “Hyacinth is a reference to the Greek myth of Apollo. And, the word meaning a precious stone and blue larkspur flower of purple and pall.”
Check out the new video, stream the full LP, and see David’s list of upcoming tour dates below…
David Eugene Edwards — 2023 Tour Dates
Oct 04 BIKO – Milano IT
Oct 05 Casa del Popolo Il Progresso – Florence IT
Oct 06 Locomotiv – Bologna IT
Oct 09 De Spot – Middelburg NL
Oct 10 Tolhuistuin – Amsterdam NL
Oct 12 Train – Århus DK
Oct 13 Amager Bio – Copenhagen DK
Oct 14 Mejeriet – Lund SE
Oct 15 Nefertiti – Gothenburg SE
Oct 17 Kulturkirken Jakob – Oslo NO
Oct 18 Kulturhuset – Bergen NO
Oct 19 Folken – Stavanger NO
Oct 20 Gamla – Kristiansand NO