Best Tracks from Comus' First Utterance
First Utterance is the debut album of the progressive folk band Comus. It was released in 1971, with the opening song "Diana" being released as a single. It was notable for its unique blend of progressive rock, folk, psychedelia, and elements of paganism and the macabre.
Undoubtedly the best use of violin on the album, with it sounding absolutely incrediblem especially during the various parts of yelling "drip drip". The song is very dynamic in general, with various peaks and valleys, all culminating in the extremely creepy section where the words "I'll be gentle" continuously get repeated louder and louder.
This is such a wonderfully deranged song, with the most immediately intense lyrics which are perfectly contrasted by the whimsical, fun, yet slightly offputting main verses, which then escalate into screaming about rape and other violence. This song is just extremely unsettling in almost every way, and I love every second of it.
The lyrics here are quite great, talking about mental institutions and electroshock therapy, with some great melodies strewn throughout. The way the music gradually picks up and becomes more nightmarish sounds incredible, and the vocal work near the end is completely insane, with some really weird effects when you listen with headphones.
I really love the changes this song goes through, starting off with a weird, fun rhythm and then going crazy on the violin. I really love the violin in this song in general, and some more fast paced moments. My favourite part however, is the great chorus, which is incredibly catchy and generally great.
The energy present here is simply incredible, and I love the use of female vocals. This truly sounds like the soundtrack of someone being hunted down and killed, the lyrics simply solidifying what already felt established.
Definitely the most pleasant song on the album, with a very long middle instrumental section that is simply incredible.
A decent 2 minute interlude all around, I quite like how it segues into the next song.