There’s a growing trend in heavy music where weight and intensity are balanced with beauty, and Shedfromthebody takes that concept to its pinnacle on Whisper and Wane. The album is the immense singular vision of one woman, Suvi Savikko, who blends the cavernous sonics of doom, the drifting textures of shoegaze, and the hypnotic power of folk into an album as transportive as it is crushing.
The sheer confidence in its songwriting sets the album apart. Every vocal melody feels gripping, recalling something almost medieval in its phrasing. Despite its dark and moody opening, there are moments of stunning gentleness, light filtering through the murk in unexpected ways. While it fits into the ever-growing canon of shoegaze-meets-doom, this is not just a heavy record, nor an experiment in atmosphere, but a deeply considered set of songs where melodies are just as important as force of sound, proving that one person alone can create something more powerful than bands trying to do the same thing. Ancient yet modern, colossal yet intimate, heavy yet breathtakingly beautiful.