London based post-sludge outfit Wren stand on a precipice. After four years of clawing their way from the peripheries of the UK metal underground, supporting the likes of Kowloon Walled City and Minsk, and facing internal strife, the band stand ready to release their debut long player ‘Auburn Rule’. We grilled them about what to expect from the record, their writing process, and what’s on the Wren horizon.

In a world where bands churn out an album every two years like clockwork, it may seem like it had taken Wren a while to release their debut. Forming back in 2013, why had it taken them until this year to release their first full length?

“A lot goes into making a record that always takes longer than you’d like to think! Mostly, we wanted to reach a point creatively that we were happy with before committing a long-play to tape. We’re highly critical of our own output, so we couldn’t really afford to create a record that we didn’t look back on fondly.”

Despite the lead up taking longer than expected, the recording process itself was brisk. “The whole process was recorded swiftly in the space of a week, within an Albini-esque school of thought that gave it a very live and organic feel. This is quite the contrast to our previous EP ‘Host’, which was a result of more meticulous production.”

Speaking of 2016’s ‘Host’ EP, what difference in direction can fans expect from ‘Auburn Rule’? “Musically, the album is a deliberate step into more refined territory than previous material, with what we think is a more mature sonic palette that we’ve developed as a collective. Our newest member Seb unexpectedly joined the band 7 weeks before entering the studio, and his influence shaped the final changes to the songwriting significantly. There are a lot more cyclical and churning noise-rock sections on the record thanks to him, and are definitely amongst the most personally satisfying things we’ve written to this point.“

With new influences and approaches to writing, do the band still consider ‘Auburn Rule’ as a ‘metal’ record first and foremost? “We stepped outside our comfort zone and wrote a few sections that you’d be hard-pressed to characterise as metal- venturing more into realms of abstract drone, and noise soundscapes, particularly in some of the interlude sections between each track.”

‘Auburn Rule’ is certainly an evocative and inscrutable title. What can Wren tell us about the inspiration behind it? “There are nods to the autumnal season, but the title merely represents the chapter of the band we currently find ourselves in. The overarching concept of submissiveness to the creative process based on the idea of being led by what the song desires itself to be is what drives us.“

Do the lyrics reflect this thematic leaning? “Lyrics are not the leading factor of our music like most other bands. Our approach has always been to try and utilize the voice as a fifth instrument rather than the vocal taking pride of place in the mix. We’ve always personally been fans of when a lyric looms out of the fog of an artist’s recordings without ever having been read before, and its significance being something you can’t quite place.“

The last year hasn’t been easy for Wren, who faced their fair share of lineup disruption following the release of the ‘Host’ EP. Many a band would have taken this as a sign to bow out. Not so. “Adapting to problematic situations in group creative endeavours is part of the process, and we’re not alone as a musical entity in facing these struggles. Of course it’s not easy, but we deserve no credit for having to deal with these issues. It’s a small price to pay after all, and if nothing else, the band is as conceptually tight as it’s ever been as a result.”

For a band as eclectic and genre evading as Wren, inspiration comes from many avenues, not least of which San Francisco’s atmospheric sludge cult heroes Kowloon Walled City. “Kowloon Walled City were a massive influence on us during the writing and recording of our previous EP, both conceptually, tonally, and in delivery of performance, and the same can probably be said for this release as well. Aside from Kowloon, our usual melting-pot of influences is probably perceivable on ‘Auburn Rule’ and like-minded listeners will probably be able to pick out surface references to the likes of Neurosis, Amenra, Old Man Gloom, and Young Widows.”

With the strength of their new material behind them, and a slowly building but ardently dedicated cult following built from their dedication to hard gigging, 2017 might well be Wren’s year. What can we expect from them going forward? “We’re lucky enough to be playing Raw Power Festival for our friends at Baba Yaga’s Hut in late May at The Dome Tufnell Park, as well as playing Creeping Death Fest at The Green Door Store in Brighton the day after. We’re also doing a UK release tour with Fvnerals at the tail end of June with Opium Lord joining us for a night in Birmingham. More tours, releases, and studio dates are also in the pipeline for the latter half of 2017.”

‘Auburn Rule’ sees release on July 14^th via Holy Roar Records. Keep up to date with all things Wren using Facebook or Bandcamp.