Best known in metal circles for his collaborations with doom legend Wino, German singer/songwriter Conny Ochs has carved a more than respectable name for himself elsewhere with three solo albums. Each a stripped back, dark and morose introspective, album number four treads an entirely different path, which makes its chosen moniker seem rather ill-fitting – ‘Doom Folk’ is arguably the most upbeat of all Ochs’ releases.
Opener ‘Dark Tower’ harks back to the days of early 00s Seether, which is unsurprising considering the song itself is a tribute to the late Chris Cornell. The richly baritone textures that weave their way through an otherwise minimalistic piece of music paint a soundscape that you could almost imagine the man himself singing along to. The rest of the album is an exploration of the depths of complexity that Conny has in his arsenal, making use of organ, bass and drums to plumb the depths of emotion, ranging from upbeat and poppy to maudlin and morose.
This is without a doubt Conny Ochs’ most accessible work to date and will definitely appeal to top 40 fans the world over. While obviously an extraordinarily talented musician, Ochs is definitely at his best when playing to his strengths of back to basic acoustic numbers that let the music speak for itself without the fuss of multiple other interfering elements.
(7/10 Angela Davey)
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