Exclusive Track Premiere: Darkher, “Wars”

Darkher’s 2014 EP The Kingdom Field caused quite a stir. The EP inspired plenty of word-of-mouth buzz in the months following its release, and the West Yorkshire, UK-based songwriter Jayn H. Wissenberg, performing under her pseudonym, gave such a riveting performance at the Roadburn Festival in 2015 that German label Prophecy Productions decided to ink her to their roster.

If you missed Darkher’s debut EP and/or her performance at Roadburn — as we did — then now is the perfect time to catch up. Her debut full-length album Realms comes out next month, and we’re pleased to premiere its first single “Wars.”

It’s easy to see why Darkher caught on so quickly in both arenas; the music sounds rich and layered, haunting and arresting, both calm and powerful coming through our desktop speakers, and it doesn’t take much imagination to envision how completely enveloping and engrossing it’d be in the live sphere. While Wissenberg’s vocals are a big draw — right up front — none of it works without the propulsive and arresting mood of the music, perfectly composed to match.

Realms comes out on August 19 via Prophecy Productions; pre-order here.