REVIEW: Folwark - All Shadows Stretched

Emerging from the mystical terrain of Umbria, where tremors of the earth meet the whispers of saints, Italian experimental duo Folwark return with their most immersive work to date. All Shadows Stretched is a six-track odyssey recorded in the belly of an abandoned mining site, an origin that feels as intentional as it is symbolic. Balancing tectonic weight with spiritual sensitivity, the record unfolds like a landscape you slowly realise you’ve been standing in for ages.

Where 2019’s VIMĀNA sketched Folwark’s otherworldly ambitions, All Shadows Stretched paints them in vivid, haunted hues. The band—Francesco Marcolini (guitars, synths, vocals) and Tommaso Faraci (drums, theremin, vocals)—shape sound into terrain, building out a realm where doom-laden riffs, ambient mantras, and ritualistic rhythms pulse as one living, breathing entity.

The opener, 'To Plough the Waves', rises from stillness into a storm, layering drones and tension before crashing into jagged rhythmic peaks. There’s a feeling of something ancient being unearthed here, less like a performance and more like an invocation. The guitars churn and spiral while drums shift between steadiness and collapse.

'The Depths' swells with dread and sacred stillness. Ghostly vocals hover above sparse, deliberate beats and grinding textures. Folwark don’t force catharsis. They shape space for it. Every note feels like it was unearthed rather than written, the emotional landscape unfolding through patient, unhurried movements.

'Amygdala', with its nervous, twitching energy and cathartic outbursts, plays like the emotional centerpiece of the album. Named after the brain’s fear- processing region, it feels like a transmission from deep within the psyche. Guitars roar and pull back. Drums erupt like panic attacks. The theremin’s eerie glissando carves holes in the air. The track becomes a sonic embodiment of emotional fragility, each instrument not merely accompanying the voice but speaking directly in its own dialect.

'Vacuum Dancer' introduces a more rhythmically direct energy. Though still heavy, there's a driving groove here that pushes forward with ceremonial intent. It's a song that carries you in its motion. Less aggressive than entrancing, it moves like a heartbeat syncing with something larger. Folwark’s looped vocal mantras and spiraling rhythms create a trance state where repetition reveals more than it repeats.

'Oval Night', the longest track at over nine minutes, sits in a space of suspended darkness. Guitars weep and pulse in waves, synths glimmer dimly beneath layers of low-end grit, and the vocals come in like distant chants. There’s a hushed reverence here. Bleak, yet strangely affirming. It’s the kind of song that feels like memory: shadowy, imperfect, but filled with meaning.

Closing with 'Agartha', the duo steps into a sense of resolution. Named after the mythic underground city, the track merges glacial synths and post-rock elegance with flashes of quiet triumph. This is not a climax but a resurfacing. Something has changed, though you may not be able to name it. Folwark leave you with the residue of the journey rather than a final proclamation.

With mixing and mastering by Lorenzo Stecconi (Amenra, Ufomammut, ZU), the record strikes a delicate balance between rawness and clarity. Every tone breathes. Every sound has a pulse. The production lets atmosphere and emotion lead without sacrificing force.

All Shadows Stretched is an experience built from introspection and restraint. Folwark speak through their instruments with a kind of emotional precision that transcends language, channeling tension, wonder, grief, and release in equal measure. This is music that listens back—quietly powerful, patiently transformative, and rooted in the spaces between.

Score: 8/10

All Shadows Stretched will be released on April 18th 2025 via Octopus Rising.

Words: Jason De Mendonca

Photos: Folwark