Music may be a language that speaks to everyone, no matter what language one speaks, but sometimes language is important to music's impact. Take the album at hand. Given the carefully reproduced lyrics in the liner notes, the songs recorded on Methan vit Naerkast Jorthini place emphasis on their words. Vocalist Kari Sverrison sings the lyrics with intensity and meaning. Surely significant concepts are discussed here, carefully worded, put out into a world that needs their input. However, if you don't understand Faroese, you will miss most of it.

The lineup for this album is Kari Sverrison (vocals and acoustic guitar), Oli Olsen (piano and rhodes), Mikael Blak (bass), Rogvi a Rogvu (drums and percussion) and Hedin Z. Davidsen (electric guitar). The instrumental parts are reminiscent of early 1970s prog-rock, just as on Enekk's previous album Fyra Naetur Fyri Jol. In fact, much of what was said about the earlier album holds true for this one as well. This is in spite of the fact that Sverrison and Olsen are the only members of the group who also appeared on Fyra Naetur Fyri Jol; the others are new to the group.

An assortment of guest musicians appears on this album, such as label-mate Unn Paturson (lead vocalist of the group Run); she does the vocal honors on "Tvey Skyggj." They are assisted on "Ogingnar Gotur" by Bulgarian singer Desislava Dimcheva, which means that the song hearkens back to the world music classic Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares. Some tracks are settings of poems; "Fyrsta Tra" adapts a poem by Lorca.

Methan vit Naerkast Jorthini builds on Enekk's history in a solid way. Even if you don't speak Faroese, it's worth checking out for a sample of folk-rock mixed with world flavor. If you're already a fan of the group, you'll want the album.

by Jennifer Hanson
Rambles.NET
1 July 2006