Robin Denselow 

Warsaw Village Band: Nord – review

One of the most adveturous, exciting groups in Europe present a new album that veers from furious dance pieces to quirky a cappellas, writes Robin Denselow
  
  


There may have been a change of personnel, but Warsaw Village Band are still one of the most adventurous, exciting groups in Europe. Matching the thrilling, harsh-edged vocals of their two female singers Magdalena Sobczak-Kotnarowska and Sylwia Swiatkowska against slinky bass riffs, percussion and wild violin work (with a dash of dulcimer, trumpet or traditional Płock fiddle added in), they create an edgy reworking of folk styles that can switch between furious dance pieces and passages of quirky, quietly thrilling a cappella vocals. They have been travelling in Scandanavia and North America, and the best songs are collaborations. The opening track, which apparently translates as Hey You, Yokel's Son, is a wailing, stomping workout in which they are joined by the bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy of the Swedish band Hedningarna, while on War's Coming they are helped by singer Sandy Scofield, for what sounds like a wild exercise in folk-trance music, with dub effects added in. Play it loud.

 

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