Release Date: 13 October 2018
1.The Birds Are Sweetly Singing/2. The Policeman Is Dead/ 3.Bright Dead Star/4.30 Red Houses/5.A Thousand Witches/6.Your Future Cartoon/7.The Postman Is Singing/8. The Bench And The Fetch/9. The Kettle’s On/1o. Fair Weather/11.The Milkmaid Sings
Label: House of Mythology
Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm? or else the story of an album that got inspired by a mysterious ritualistic killing
Let’s start talking about this album by talking about Bella (real name unknown)’s murder. This is a (still) unsolved case but the narrative is that Bella was killed in the early 40s in ways that echoed the killing of witches, despite the fact that the reason behind her death was also 
believed to be Nazi espionage. Even though this story unveiled in the 40s there are many folklore elements assigned to it. Reports talked about the ceremony known as the ‘Hand of Glory’ allegedly having being performed, combined with other rituals that are present on studies regarding the killing of witches. Even though the 1940s was a completely different era than the 1644 to 1647 when witch hunts reached their zenith in England, the apparent brutality and mystery surrounding this case, provided a fertile ground for the development of different theories and assumptions. The site of this was Wych Elm, an area belonging to Wychbury Hill, which is a site loved from pagans and is home to the first example of England’s neoclassical architecture, a purely decorative (and now listed) construction that replicated the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens. If you have come across this story, you might already know that there are many articles, studies, documentaries done about Bella and this mysterious killing and there is also a very distinct sketch that has been produced, of her figure. This sketch has been re-imagined by David Tibet and has ‘haunted’ the whole live performance of the new album of C93 at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on the day of its release. It is also a key element in the visuals of the physical album, while the occult-related side of the story of Bella’s murder has been channelled in this album in different ways such as, in the lyrics of ‘A Thousand Witches‘ as well as through the alteration of these lyrics at the end of ‘The Postman Is Singing‘
“A thousand witches
In the house in the fields
In your heart
Inside them all is Endor
A thousand witches in Lower Quinton
A thousand witches by Hagley Wood…”(lyrics from: ‘A Thousand Witches’)
I don’t think that Current 93 have ever presented an album live on the day of its release and this is remarkable because the live performance of this album completely changed its perception. While it was challenging to overcome the thrill of listening to a new album for the first time, the way this album was performed, the whole production of this gig, enhanced its emotional and conceptual impact tenfold. It is unfair to say this, but those who missed that gig, have also missed part of the meaning of this album. We hope that a DVD will be released in the future for those who are interested in the deeper meaning of music and lyrics and are following the work of C93.
A month whose soundtrack includes new albums by and also the trees, PET NEEDS and Whispering Sons is not one to pass by!
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