Biography:
Backworld makes lovely acoustic neo-folk, with a melancholic atmosphere. Acoustic guitars and beautiful strings dominate the music. A performance of the band at the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig a few years ago made a great impression on me. Musical mastermind of this American formation is Joseph Budenholzer, who composes most of the music and who writes great lyrics.
Religious themes appear a lot, like on their second and best album “Isles of the Blest”. This record contains various great tracks, like the title track, or ‘Beautiful Dream’ with Jarboe, and the haunting ‘Heaven’s Gate’. In 2001 a new highlight was added to the discography of Backworld: “Of silver sleep”, an album with mostly slow songs, but oh so beautiful. In 2001 a live album from Backworld came out: “The Fourth Wall”. It includes a duet from Joseph with Rose McDowall.
Discography:
- Holy Fire (World Serpent, 1996)
- Isles of the Blest (World Serpent, 1998)
- Anthems from the Pleasure Park (World Serpent, 1999)
- The Orchids mcd (World Serpent, 2000)
- Of Silver Sleep (World Serpent, 2001)
- The Tide 7″ (World Serpent, 2001)
- The Fourth Wall (World Serpent, 2001)
- Hands of Ash 7″ (World Serpent, 2001)