Author: Kate Crudgington

After sharing her poignant rumination ‘Where The Bough Has Broken’ – an atmospheric ode to communal growth and memory – Irish artist Hilary Woods has returned with another hypnotic instrumental titled ‘Burial Rites’. Lifted from her upcoming album, Acts Of Light, which is set for release on 3rd November via Sacred Bones, the track is a magnetic, gloomy cogitation inspired by the Gaelic Celtic ritual of Keening; a traditional form of vocal lament when mourning for the dead.

Following on from her second full length record Birthmarks (2020) and her hypnotic EP Feral Hymns (2021), Woods has expanded and experimented with her sound even further on her new album. Written, recorded, mixed and produced by Woods over the two years she spent between the west coast of Ireland and Dublin, Acts Of Light includes a myriad of idiosyncratic sounds.

The record features choristers of the Palestrina choir, together with the voices of the Galway City Chamber Choir, which Woods captured in the Pro Cathedral Dublin. Strings by Oslo-based musician Jo Berger Myhre appear throughout, and all the tracks are interspersed with field recordings that Woods captured during her time spent travelling through the north west of Spain. These influences have culminated into the nine “hypnotic dirges” that make up Acts Of Light, with single ‘Burial Rites’ offering another glimpse at this potent body of work.

The track is accompanied by a visual which Woods created herself. She offers more insight into the making of it: “The video is comprised of 16mm and 8mm hand processed film, together with archive footage and still photographs that convey private and collective rituals as acts of light.” Paired with her stirring and considered instrumentation, these images convey a powerful sense of loss, absence, love and connection, all themes which permeate Acts Of Light.

Watch the video for ‘Burial Rites’ below.

Pre-order Hilary Woods’ upcoming album Acts Of Light here

Follow Hilary Woods on bandcamp, Spotify & Instagram

Hilary Woods Ireland & UK Tour Dates 2023
25/10/2023 IRL Dublin The Gallery space at The Complex
26/10/2023 IRL Dublin The Gallery space at The Complex
30/10/2023 UK Liverpool Kazimier Stockroom
31/10/2023 UK Brighton Rose Hill Arts
01/11/2023 UK London Cafe OTO
02/11/2023 UK Bristol Cube Cinema
03/11/2023 UK Newcastle Cobalt Studios
04/11/2023 UK Manchester The White Hotel
05/11/2023 UK Leeds Headrow House

Hilary Woods European Tour Dates 2023
05/12/2023 FR Lyon Le Sonic
06/12/2023 CH Geneva Cave12 *
07/12/2023 IT Ravenna Bronson *
08/12/2023 IT Busto Arsizio Circolo Gagarin *
09/12/2023 IT Cornuda Tipoteca Italiana *
10/12/2023 IT Bologna Circolo Dev *
12/12/2023 DE Munich Rote Sonne *
13/12/2023 DE Berlin Arkaoda *
14/12/2023 DE JenaTRAFO *
15/12/2023 DE Dresden Schauburg *
16/12/2023 PL Warsaw Jassmine *
17/12/2023 LI Vilnius St. Catherine Church *
18/12/2023 LV Riga Vagonu Hall *
19/12/2023 EE Tallinn Kino Sõprus *
* – as special guest to Jozef Van Wissem

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut