New Music: Fallen Letters – Hiraeth

Hard to believe that it’s been five years since we last covered Fallen Letters, but we’re glad to welcome them back with Hiraeth.

The Bengaluru, India based group were in the early days then, placing themselves under the alt-rock banner. That’s a description that doesn’t quite fully encompass the complex and flowing nature of Hiraeth, however, as they forge a new route for themselves musically.

Compared to this July’s A Familiar Absence, it possesses a less overtly blackened theme, having transitioned the fire of that track into something that is more progressive and less fierce, maybe funereal in tone as it yearns for the hearth and heart of home.

In fact, the track’s name is derived from the Welsh word ‘hiraeth’ – one of those words that is hard to translate but embodies a sensation many of us have known. It’s not just about nostalgia for a time or place but also that sense of grief that hangs in your soul when you know it’s somewhere that is lost for you forever.

And that could help explain the intangible sadness that twists like a mist around the vocals of Vishal Naidu. He has a pain-struck presence similar to Thom Yorke and can quickly adopt a posture that could fill a stadium.

As can the arrangement, amply illustrated by the fact that Fallen Letters recently opened for Opeth. Tracks that immerse themselves in progressive sounds, especially ones that clock in at six minutes, as it does here, need to be confident, balanced, and well-written: Hiraeth is all that and more.

Hiraeth and the band’s back catalogue are streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. To join the band on their new chapter in sound, follow them on Instagram or Facebook.