Horisonten

Although Fågel Roc are a Stockholm group and often sing in Swedish, their original songs incorporate elements of varied global traditions, establishing a house style via balanced blending. Their cover songs directly inhabit zones ranging from the Balkans through to the Middle East and beyond. As a collective, Fågel Roc can boast a long list of players across 12 albums, with acoustic guitarist Petter Brundell as a constant figure. On Horisonten, he works together with Istvan Lakatos Stenberg on guitars, bass and synths, the latter sounding like they're midi-triggered by string-action. Maia Saskia provides most of the vocals, with Nadia Louis singing on two songs. Lars Tillberg Galsgaard handles percussion.

There's a folk rock attitude across the album, but with a predominantly acoustic vibration. Despite this steeping in tradition, Fågel Roc's approach often sounds quite pop orientated, as if intending to broaden the appeal of exposed roots. There's a sense of formality, a rigidity that could have benefitted from some rugged gusto, but the band's taste in material is impressively varied. Goran Bregović's ‘Ederlezi’ is given an almost-reggae tilt, then singer Samira Said's ‘Youm Wara Youm’ sets the listener down in Morocco, before the album concludes with ‘Nihtose Horis Feggari’, an old Greek song by Stella Haskil.