‘Tragic Cover Stories’ by Azwel is a 13-track rock B-sides album from 2008-2009 filled with rousing, haunting and contemplative allure. Each track builds a world that is at times expansive, while at others a moment of reprieve, all goosebump-inducing and full of this one-of-a-kind richness. Groove turns deeper and dark-edged, moving outwards and expansively.
Percussion bookends the collection, with the rousing melodies of ‘The Early Morning Call’ rousing engagement, while the galloping trot of ‘See You On The Flip Side’ helps bring in the wind down. Both a prelude and epilogue to a seemingly eclectic collection of tracks that feel like a simultaneous juxtaposition of mood and emotion.
In the middle, ‘Tragic Cover Stories’ pools in most recognisable subsets of alt-rock and rock, taking on this almost nostalgic and familiar quality. The guarded brightness of tracks like the titular track and ‘What I Saw’ is sometimes overshadowed by the dark-edged groove on tracks like ‘Disposition’ or ‘Petrified’.
Each song holds in it this microcosm of emotion and theme, seemingly coming from this space that feels nebulous but grounded at the same time. ‘On The Move’ captures this breadth of emotion that feels like it stuns you in its tracks.
This while only a few tracks down from it, ‘Seven Days To Fall’ captures this disoriented frenzy that only seems to build with heavy-set intensity as the song moves along. ‘Tragic Cover Stories’ feels like a musical mosaic of sound, taking from familiar beats that seem reminiscent of anything between The Beatles and Dire Straits.
The lyrics on each track weaves a tale, relevant and at times expansive enough to evoke an image. Poetic and immersive. Just right for an album full of anthologies that capture specific moments in time and emotion.
The sound of the album is an expansive experience, one that feels layered and just that little bit different as you move through each track. In these stories, there is a sense of resonance, one that only seems present when a band is in their prime. This collection feels like a testament to their calibre of talent
‘Tragic Cover Stories’ by Azwell tells tales, ones that feel self-contained yet rich with this dynamic pull. Always moving, each soundscape takes the listener through glimpses of different worlds, different moments in time, or continuations of themes that feel braided intricately into that particular track’s sonic narrative.
A haunting, alluring, goosebump-raising and immersive listen.
