Avant Folk II

This is Norwegian accordionist Frode Haltli’s follow-up to 2018’s original Avant Folk album, reuniting the same ten-piece ensemble. Its four compositions all hover around the ten-minute region, allowing ample time for slow and steady developments, to be carefully mulled within the listener’s mind. Haltli is joined by Hardanger fiddle player Erlend Apneseth and Hammond organist Ståle Storløkken, along with violin, saxophones, trumpet, guitars, upright bass and drums.

The folk tradition is only part of the narrative, with no shortage of jazz, ambient and new music traits swirling around in the vistas. A ghostly improvised abstraction bridges ‘Doggerland’, heralding much variation in open spaces, and sensitive interaction between the players. Delicate trumpet and accordion begin ‘Nordlys’, as the others tentatively enter, its melody hesitantly revealed and elaborated. This is pictorial music, sometimes imbued with a shimmering Steve Reich feeling. ‘Gravberget’ makes a courtly procession, as subtle joint vocals become part of the weave, its climax provided by a guitar solo, with stirring organ and then saxophone, all together sounding like Norwegian prog folk. Diverse elements are under firm control. The finale, ‘All Over the Place’, makes a return to melancholia, a dirge arriving from eastern realms, anywhere from Greece to Pakistan. Hildegunn Øiseth provides a striking goat horn solo, utilising high vocal tones, as all the players continue to share roles, snaking in between each other, all of this album’s tunes always being superbly arranged.