The ambitious fourth album, Wappinschaw, was inspired by Scotland and
its struggle for independence. At the time of its recording, Cinder was
attempting to leave London. But as much as “ideas of homecoming were
percolating,” there remained old ghosts to exorcise, culminating in
Wappinschaw’s heady, harrowing voyage: “An invocation of spirits of
resistance – as much a declaration of war as a declaration of love.”
The
title refers to an archaic Scottish battle inspection, during which
clan chieftains surveyed their group’s weapons to ensure they were ready
for combat. Opening with an aching vocal rendition of British folk
standard The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face), the album surges into A
Song Of Changes. The mood fragments into feverish dirge, pensive
spirituals, noir abstraction, spoken word, bagpipe drone, and
apocalyptic post-punk. Cinder describes the creation of Wappinschaw as a
“precarious” process, composed from “scraps” with abruptly shifting
personnel, a situation compounded by the impending dissolution of
Midnight Music. From Post-Punk.com
Released Late July 2021 by Dais Records.
English