Releasing DVDs (16HP, Live) has made the announcement of 16Horsepower's split less painful. We can now be sure that the expanding Woven Hand oeuvre has become the most important project in David Eugene Edwards' life. Consider the Birds was released at the end of 2004 and its successor Mosaic follows it pretty quickly and what is more important, its quality is even higher.

The debut untitled Woven Hand album came out in 2002. On Blush Music, which was written for a Belgian ballet performance, it was reworked into another studio album in 2003. Later the original score of the ballet was released titled Blush. Then Consider the Birds in 2004 and now this latest record - if we add up all of them, Woven Hand opus now consists of five albums. This means that Edwards' second band has produced the same amount of work as his previous band 16 Horsepower. Well, to be honest, 16 Horsepower made a debut mini-album and four studio ones, and besides that there's a live record and a rarities collection called Olden. Regarding the quality, Woven Hand's work has a very high standard.

Woven Hand - originally as a side-project - launched in 2001, has been developing gradually since the last 16hp album Folklore. Using more and more traditional instruments and sounding more sacral. As for his approach to solo albums, David recorded the biggest part of the album on his own, as he did earlier. Only drummer Ordy Garrison and pianist Daniel MacMahon helped with some songs, and violinist Elin Palmer plays on three tracks.

Soundwise, Edwards - who was brought up in a religious family - leaves the earth on his latest release. Consider The Birds already contained some clues about the present sound. A sound that is totally unique and of the same high quality as that of 16hp. Not only because of its atmosphere, but on the whole because of the consistency between the songs. Mosaic is about an internal journey, and it combines folkloristic elements (banjo, xylophone, Turkish flute, zither), ethereal intimate sounds, dramatic tormented parts, instrumental pieces with medieval melodies and the spirit of sacred music. It may sound odd, but what we hear can be defined most appropriately as a Joy Division-Dead Can Dance fusion. There is a meditative introduction. There are floating melodies, the mood of ceremonial music, medieval tones dressed in Joy Division feelings - we are getting deeper and deeper in the maze of the spirit. Sometimes Tom Waits-like blues pops up or Nick Cave-esque high-spirited rock with a string-section. Then a “speaking in tongues” sermon follows and in the end when we reach the surface we are cooled down with more normal tones and an instrumental ending.

Edwards and his mates played a very successful concert at last year's Sziget Festival. On 11 July he will revisit our country. Joined by ex-16hp bass player Pascal Humbert, Woven Hand will play the new Mosaic material on the stage of the A38 ship.

9 (out of 10)