Album Review: Weft – The Splintered Oar (Bindrune Recordings)

Weft, the sole vision of Charlie Anderson (Panopticon), will release ‘The Splintered Oar’ on December 19th, 2025, via Bindrune Recordings. An album that features a wealth of talent (Austin Lunn / Andrea Morgan / Jordan Day), who helped Charlie see his vision come to fruition.

Known for his violin work in Panopticon, Charlie Anderson branches out into black and death focused soundscapes, while putting haunting atmosphere at the forefront of everything. Along with a ton of impressive collaborators, the man creates something that captures the imagination and stays with you for a long time afterwards.

It is a beautiful start to the album, courtesy of Leaves. Where immersive violin melody helps create emotional depth and the sense of wandering, peacefully, through ancient woods is strong. It is folkish, but not aggressively so, and atmosphere still dominates. At over five minutes, it’s a little too long, but it’s fair to say that this is more of a starter when you consider what comes next.

It’s False Kingdoms and here, Weft goes big. Not only experimental, but heavy and dark. It’s an experience that can be summed up as vibrant, engaging, and strange. Clearly nothing was off the table here and while that does mean there’s an array of sounds that challenge and amaze, Weft handles the complex arrangement deftly.

Here, I believe, most will find themselves either fully on board or ready to bail out.

It’s hard not be intrigued by what comes next and to my absolute delight (and hopefully yours), it’s something potent. Something wild, something dramatic, and something intense. All while crossing glorious melodic boundaries, crafting expressive and meaningful atmosphere, and bludgeoning the senses with robust heaviness that really leans into blacker depths. It’s The Hull, and it’s very special.

I don’t quite get the same feeling from Red Dawn, but damn it, I can’t help but feel a bit enamoured with the metallised ferocity of this one. The Weft experience getting that bit more intense, more feral, and with some of the album’s most aggressive vocals. Before Dream of Oaks arrives to deliver grandeur, lengthy and complex grandeur filled with varied and unforgettable melodies, powerful progressive twists that turn things in darker and heavier directions, and an ending that is just delightful.

Weft – The Splintered Oar Track Listing:

1. Leaves
2. False Kingdoms
3. The Hull
4. Red Dawn
5. Dream of Oaks

Links

Bandcamp