As the weather gradually chills and the leaves start to turn, I notice my listening habits gradually shift to slightly darker sounds but also more emotive and wistful ones. What this often results in is a gravitation toward elegiac neo-folk, mournful doom metal, and nostalgia-inducing post-black metal, and Wounds of Recollection's I Found the Love I Was Looking For is an exemplary soundtrack for deep contemplation during walks along rows of autumnal trees adorned with the colors of rust, saffron, and ochre.
I Found the Love I was Looking For marks the 11th full-length release from Wounds of Recollection, who have released at least one album every year from 2015 to 2021. The band's sole member Annos turned some heads at the beginning of this year, after debuting his other one-man black metal project The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir. While that band is rooted more traditional black metal, Wounds of Recollection builds upon the more recent development of Graduation Day Black Metal™, which encompasses a lighter and bittersweet sound rather than a dark and brooding one, that still captures feelings of longing and regret in its darkest moments. Think of the landmark albums Sunbather (2013) by Deafheaven and Écailles de Lune (2010) by Alcest as foundational texts, with Annos publicly citing the former’s considerable influence on Wounds of Recollection, along with nods to Japanese rock, sweeping post-rock, and dreamy emo and alternative rock sprinkled throughout I Found the Love I Was Looking For.
According to Annos, Wounds of Recollection has been an “outlet for voicing fears and struggles through transition into adulthood,” and I Found the Love I Was Looking For thematic focus is on the “celebration of living a simple life and an expression of gratitude for everyone and everything that has paved the path to a fulfilling life.” This sentiment is reflected in the pervasive and sincere feelings of triumph demonstrated throughout much of the album. Yet, while the stated concept behind the album is overwhelmingly positive, the music and lyrics sometimes point to darker moments that the narrator has overcome. “Blue Bird on the Tarmac,” for example, includes the lyrics “I can't help but think of long drives to my childhood home after seasons away/But it feels like there's a barricade built from the scars upon my arm/And it’s buried me in shame for well past a decade.” The song is a testament to this fluctuation between these musical and emotional approaches, beginning with the choir-like effect of multiple layers of vocals yearnfully singing about savoring the moment of watching birds, which serve as a basis for exploring the meaning of home. These vocals are accompanied by a gently strummed guitar and, eventually, a steady drum pattern played on the toms, which counterintuitively builds toward one of the more aggressive and darker sections of black metal on the album.
Within any rumination about the past exists triumphs in overcoming obstacles. This conflict is played out with seemingly contradictory musical impulses: lush, contemplative string arrangements, vulnerable clean singing, and quiet major-key interludes one minute and tremolo-picked distorted guitars, furious screaming, and unrelenting blast beats the next. On the surface, this seems like an incongruity, but the tension between these impulses provides a basis for the conflicting emotions explored throughout the album. Despite this type of contrast occurring throughout the album, it never sounds forced or abrupt. Rather, each transition transpires fluidly and naturally. Even within individual segments, these conflicting musical and emotional approaches can occur simultaneously without feeling disjointed, and the tension between them is the primary strength of I Found the Love I was Looking For.