akrobakkus

Album Review

Afenginn are a bit of an anomaly — no, make that a lot of an anomaly — among Danish bands. You won't hear them playing the music of their homeland; instead, they take a path through a Balkans of the imagination, with twisting, turning music composed by group leader and mandolin player Kim Nyberg. His compositions are wonderfully challenging and heavily laced with musical humor, but the tightly knit group is more than up to them, able to stop and turn on a dime. There's a sense of suspended belief in listening to this record, since it doesn't belong to any particular culture, and moves swiftly from idea to idea, with a few glittering moments — a bass solo, a hammered dulcimer solo, and some mad clarinet — in between. But it's endlessly entertaining, a roller coaster of melody and rhythm often played at breakneck speed and with dazzling skill. It's impossible not to love this album, not only for the technique, but for the way it scampers around like a happy puppy. But if you want to hear a more shadowy side to the band, keep listening long after (12 minutes in, actually) the final track, "Valse Melankolika," to catch something far gloomier and dragged out. Under all circumstances, though, do listen to this album. It satisfies the parts most music can't reach.