For the last three years or so, I have found myself, as a music lover, absolutely astonished at just how much new music I have stumbled upon. I found myself neck-deep in a whole other plane of musical existence. Chamber Folk, Death Gospel, Dark Folk, Esoteric Folk, etc., are all genres of music that I never even really knew existed. Artists such as Windhand vocalist Dorthia Cottrell, Anna Von Hausswolff, Darkher, and the catalyst for this genre of music for me, Marissa Nadler. As enamored as I have been with this new (to me) music, I am always on the watch for other artists, and in April of this year, I was introduced to Seattle, Washington’s Serpentent.
Serpentent is an extension of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/visual artist Anne K. O’Neill from Seattle, Washington. There was a time when I would roll my eyes at people who used “monikers” instead of their names, but as a musician myself who has delved into other realms of music, I too have found it necessary to give each side of my artistic self a name. Serpentent is no different.
When I sat down to listen to Serpentent’s album Mother of Light, I intended to write just another album review. Don’t get me wrong; album reviews are fun for me to write because it is my way of sharing with people my personal thoughts and reflections on a particular body of work. However, some works are better than others, and some are not so good. Every now and then, though, there is an album that makes it damn near impossible for me to write a mere review. Mother of Light is one of those albums.
The cover art, the name, and even the fact that the Finnish label Svart Records are releasing her debut album led me to believe that she was Finnish or Swedish, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out she was actually American. This surprised me because this kind of music, with a few exceptions, seems to be predominantly made (and better done) by Europeans. However, after reading about the concept behind the Mother of Light, I was intrigued, drawn in, and eager to see where it would take me.
Mother of Light is the first in what is to be a conceptual trilogy entitled Ancient Tomes. Serpentent had this to say about the concept of the album:
Ancient Tomes is a concept trilogy which tells the tale of the Death of Death as a means to explore many of the paradoxes found within human existence. Considering that, Mother Of Light, is actually Death herself, as depicted on the cover of the record. And I chose to call Death the “Mother Of Light”, not necessarily because she is light but more because she inspires it.
Reasonably so, people look at Death negatively, but in navigating my own personal experiences with loss and grief, it’s much easier to accept when you come back to the reality that Death is a necessary aspect of life and that it’s all intertwined. It’s not that simple per se, but without going on for too long, that’s the general idea.
Mother of Light is one of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring things I have heard from this genre since Marissa Nadler’s album July. With Mother of Light, O’Neill has created a hauntingly beautiful narrative that is both settling and unsettling. Personifying “Death” as the “Mother of Light” is an unexpected twist on a concept as old as time itself.
It amazes me when an artist can take a concept such as Death and paint it into a beautiful picture of acceptance. Death is inevitable, and while it can be horrific and saddening, it is also beautiful. The releasing of a tormented soul, a wrecked body, or a broken heart from this place is a really beautiful thing. There is a beauty to the concept of leaving the plane of the living for the plane of the unknown. In my opinion, Mother of Light is the soundtrack to crossing over as I can feel the optimism, confusion, and wonder of those that are no longer with us. It truly is beautiful, and Mother of Light captured it perfectly and better than anyone I have heard yet.
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