The Fernweh is a modern psychedelic folk band from Liverpool, England. The idea for the group first came about in 2007, though their first (and only album thus far) wasn’t released until 2018. I recently found the band on Twitter, and I’m pretty stoked to check them out, in part because I really dig both British folk and psychedelic folk music, and because Bert Jansch, one of my favorite guitarists of all time, follows the group on Twitter. With that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music of The Fernweh’s self-titled debut album.
“The Liar” starts out with some really interesting vocal lines at the onset of the song, as though the end soundbite of studio chatter was left in at the beginning of the track. Holy smokes, the song begins to take form in a manner that sounds like a combination of both British folk from the late 1960s, and psychedelic pop from the mid-to-late 1960s. I really dig the way the acoustic guitar and organs play similar lines with timbres that seem to represent the British folk and psychedelic pop genres, respectively. Holy smokes, some really groovy electric guitar comes in that has a sort of sound reminiscent of George Harrison’s guitar tone from Revolver (1966), by The Beatles. I really dig the pop-y synth-like effects in the percussion of the track. Oh wow, I really dig the sort of psychedelic pop-like droning at the end of the track. Great tune, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Next Time Around” gets started with some really sweet 1960s psychedelic pop sounds that I really dig, and soon after the tune seems to take more of a British folk rock form reminiscent of groups like Fairport Convention. I really dig the combination of the folksy acoustic guitar work and the psychedelic pop-like sounds from the keyboards and the organs. Holy smokes, I really dig the vocal melody in this track. Holy smokes, the soundscape seems to continually get sweeter and sweeter as the music continues, producing a really groovy psychedelic folk and psychedelic pop sound that I’m really digging. Oh wow, I really dig the way the organs almost sound like baroque orchestral strings in the background. Holy smokes, some really sweet piano comes in near the end and accentuates the guitar work. Wow, great track.
“Timepiece” starts out with what sounds to be the ticking of a timepiece, which are soon joined by some really sweet, flowing acoustic guitar work, and some really interesting piano work that seems to trade with a bright, plucky harp to keep the song moving along. Oh wow, there’s a really sweet baroque orchestral strings part that almost serves as a bridge of sorts. Oh wow, some really sweet, folksy flutes are added near the end of the track. Super sweet instrumental tune.
“Brightening In the West” sounds like a super groovy natural continuation of the melody from the end of the previous song with totally different flavors in the form of a distorted guitar. Oh wow, I really dig the combination of the rhythmic acoustic guitar, distorted electric guitar, and the grooving bass guitar as the track flows along. Holy smokes, the track slows down for a moment and then launches into a super groovy psychedelic rock movement that sort of reminds me of The Sonic Dawn. Wow, great track.
“Hand Me Down” starts out with some really sweet, flowing, folksy acoustic guitar, which is soon joined by what sounds to be a lead acoustic guitar that adds more folksy flavors to the soundscape. Wow, I’m really digging the track so far. The soundscape has a classic British folk sound that reminds me a fair deal of The Pentangle and Fairport Convention. I really dig the cadence of the vocals in this track, which seem to almost bounce along with the notes plucked from the acoustic guitars. Oh wow, a mellow bass guitar is added, and seems to make the soundscape sound even bigger in the process. Holy smokes, a big, folksy bass drum adds some rhythmic feel to the soundscape, which is soon followed by some really interesting accentuations from what sound to be a medley of flutes and keyboards. Wow, great track.
Oh wow, “Dressing Up Box” starts out with some folksy flavors, which are soon followed up by some really groovy psychedelic flavors that remind me a bit of surf-inflected psychedelic rock from Los Angeles in the late 1960s. The rhythm section and the guitar work make me think a bit of The Doors, while the piano/keyboards/harpsichord add in some really interesting folksy flavors. Holy smokes, a saxophone comes in with some super hot soloing as the track seems to break through to a jam/groove section. Holy smokes, it sounds like another brass instrument has been added to the soundscape as the jam seems to become both increasingly groovy and layered. Oh wow, it sounds like there’s a distant, somewhat blues-inflected trumpet as the track mellows out a ton. I really dig the spacey, psychedelic effects from what sounds to be a synth at the end of the song. Great track.
Holy smokes, “Is This Man Bothering You?” starts out with some hot psychedelic pop/rock guitar work that reminds me of some folk-inflected version of George Harrison’s guitar work from Revolver (1966) by The Beatles. Holy smokes, I’m really digging this track. Oh wow, the tune enters a sort of breakdown section that builds up a bit of tension that makes the chorus vocals and organs sound even sweeter as the breakdown movement resolves. Holy smokes, the track switches up to a sweet, folksy, acoustic section with light organs/keyboards in the background, an acoustic guitar, and a heavenly female vocalist’s voice. Wow, awesome track.
“Winterlude” is a super groovy, short track filled with what sounds to be organs and mellotron that I really dig.
Oh wow, “A Leaf Didn’t Move” gets grooving off of the heels of the previous track seamlessly with some sweet, somewhat pop-y keyboards/organs that seem to have a psychedelic pop from the late 1960s feel, a pop-y 1980s feel, and reminds me a bit of modern psychedelic acts like The Asteroid No. 4. Oh wow, there’s some really groovy pedal steel guitar that reminds me a bit of “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd. Holy smokes, the saxophone comes in for some super groovy lines that make the soundscape feel even more dynamic. Wow, I’m really digging this track right now, and the album as a whole for that matter; I feel like I’ve gotten increasingly closer to my speakers throughout this listening experience. Holy smokes, I really dig the percussion near the end of the track. Oh wow, the outro coda of the track brings with it the heavenly sounds of the female vocalist’s voice, which is backed by some mellow keys. Wow, awesome track.
“Where Did the Sea Go” gets flowing right away with some folksy flavors that almost have a bit of a bluesy-inflection and somewhat of an American country folk style somewhat reminiscent of groups like The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I really dig the low, grooving bass line underneath the guitar. Holy smokes, the piano melody is super sweet in this track too. Great tune.
“One Hundred Flowers Bloom” starts out with some bright, light, folksy acoustic guitar work, which is soon by some sweet vocals. Oh wow, the track seems to gradually pick up some country folk flavors with a twangy fiddle and what seems to be a deeper acoustic guitar sound that reminds me of American country music. Holy smokes, I really dig the sort of psychedelic pop-like movement that the band seems to break through to for the chorus. Oh wow, the electric guitar comes in and reminds me a fair deal of some country feel. The vocals and rhythm section in the chorus almost have a sort of modern, Los Angeles-based psychedelic garage rock sound that I really dig. Great tune.
“New Brighton Sigh” immediately reminds me of mid-1960s Bob Dylan with the intro. Oh wow, the piano and violin seem to walk the line between American country folk and British folk. Oh wow, I really dig the layering in the vocals in this track. I’m really reminded of Mayo Thompson’s album, Corky’s Debt to His Father (1969), with both this track and the previous track. Holy smokes, some really interesting, far-out synths come in for the outro movement of the track. Wow, great tune.
“Little Monsters” begins with a super sweet medley of British folk and baroque flavors that I’m really digging. Holy smokes, I really dig the layering of the lead vocal lines with the background chorus vocals. Holy smokes, the tune seems to take a psychedelic country feel as though you’re in the old west, just rolling into town headed for the nearby watering hole. Holy smokes, the song seems to have taken a sort of spacey, psychedelic turn as the sweet instrumentation seems to mellowly meander for a bit. Oh wow, the track seems to have resolved to something that feels like a blend of British folk, psychedelic pop, and psychedelic country rock. Oh wow, I really dig the way the fiddle(s) and the guitar, and the rest of the instrumentation continually build off of each other. Wow, great track.
“Afternoon Nap” introduces some really sweet, repetitive, folksy lines from what sounds to be a guitar and a keyboard, with a bit of narrative alongside that I can’t understand too well at the moment. Super sweet track, and a great way to finish the album.
Holy smokes, this album is great. I’m currently trying to see if the album was pressed onto vinyl. The blend of genres throughout the album shouldn’t be understated. While the band predominantly hangs around a sort of blend of British folk and psychedelic pop/rock, they also venture into baroque, American country, psychedelic garage rock, and even some spacey psychedelic flavors as well. If you’re into psychedelic folk, British folk, and psychedelic pop/rock from the late 1960s, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, then I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A