What does Wendy Rule sound like?

Dark gothic folk music with a cabaret, filmic edge.

The review of ‘Meditations on Darkness and Light’ by Wendy Rule

This isn’t Wendy Rule’s first foray into the ambient ritual world, but the usually dark folk singer-songwriter is in particularly bewitching form for her latest album. ‘Meditations on Darkness and Light’ is a double album featuring haunting vocals, floating soundscapes, and the edge of dream, creepy graveyard vibes that soothe a heavy soul and mind whilst staying disquieting at the same time.

Each track floats between a couple of questioning chords, usually mixing together synth strings and Wendy’s echoing voice. Rule layers her voice and fogs it out to sound like a shoal of siren witches beckoning you towards them. The heaviness of the hypnotic back and forth of each song is lightened by gentle electronic twinkles, rustling pianos, and some airy keys. Thickening the sound are crow squawks, bird cries, spitting fire flames, and a lot of wind atmospherics. The sound is dense, and that lets Wendy slowly land her near-spoken or droney lead vocal sections. Not all the tracks are dark, heavy pieces. ‘Starlight’ is a brighter, cosmic, and spacious affair. ‘Dawn’ has a dewy and uplifting lilt to it with its optimistic piano underbelly. It is in the desert dry heat of tracks like ‘Night’ where the album reaches its peaks. Southern guitar tendrils drift over heavy synths and Wendy’s hushed, low moans. Evoking the witching hour with ‘Twilight’ runs like a cinematic masterclass.

‘Meditations on Darkness and Light’ comes in two versions. The first includes all of Wendy’s vocals, whereas the second removes all the lead vocals and words for an instrumental album. It isn’t strictly instrumental as all of Wendy’s backing vocals are present, which are an integral sonic layer of melody and tone, yet it gives a different tone and feel. Since each of the tracks is exactly 8 minutes long, you’ll have nearly 2 hours of meditative haunts to bathe in.

If you need something for Halloween, or to truly embrace the ethereal, witchy ritual world of the midnight hour, Wendy Rule has you covered. Far more involved and intricate than pure drone-based meditation music, this is a dense and striking album to send a chill down your relaxed spine.

Recommended track: Night

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