Tristwch y Fenywod (Sadness of Women) is a Leeds-based trio that musically draws inspiration from the early 4AD catalogue and the goth-y three-album run by The Cure between 1980 and 1982. They use zithers instead of guitars and sing in Welsh, though it is not entirely sure whether any of the members actually is Welsh—one, Sydney Koke, has previously played in Canadian bands like The Courtneys. Together with Hawthonn’s Layla Legard and Gretchen Aury, who might be affiliated with the US-American collective To Live And Shave in L.A., she leans into what on the surface appears to be somewhat of a piss-take that however is presented very earnestly across the eight tracks of the band’s self-titled debut for Night School, essentially an expanded studio update of the band’s 2022 live album “Yn Fyw Yn Wharf Chambers 12fed Gorffenaf 2022.” With more depth and detail, the gloomy mid-tempo songs shine more darkly, further emphasising that “Tristwch y Fenywod” is not a gimmick even though it comes across as a bit tongue-in-cheek. Unlike the thousands of bands that indulge very earnestly in the kind of retroism that the trio evokes, Tristwch y Fenywod try to inject new ideas into the old formulas on which they base their music. The fact that they write wonderfully sinister songs is very helpful, too.
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