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Written in fRoots issue 314/315, 2009
 

ALLA FAGRA
Våta Pussar
Nordic Tradition NTCD 14 (2009)

There’s a lot about this album that recalls the bold intelligence and fun of Filarfolket and early Groupa back in the 1980s. And like Filarfolket, Alla Fagra (‘all fair’) is from Malmö in southern Sweden.
      In catchy original songs and tunes with a polska/halling swing, choppy hand-percussion and bouzouki rhythms underpin fiddle-chording and exuberant vocals from percussionist Dan Svensson and harpist Julia Westberg. The others are Olof Göthlin on fiddle, viola d’amore and jew’s-harp, Gabriel Hermansson on bouzouki and agile acoustic-bass-guitarist Per Svensson. Not just their ethos but their look is pleasingly evocative of the 1960s-’70s: Abba-beards and long hair for three of the four hims, hippy hat and long multicoloured hippy skirt for the her, they have “one foot in the city, the other in the forest” as the title track, Våta Pussar (‘sloppy smooches’) puts it.
      Reminiscent of a past era indeed, but certainly original in its own right, and it’s refreshing to see the fun and creative discovery of that time starting all over again in a band that looks set to rise.

      www.nordictradition.com


© 2009 Andrew Cronshaw
 

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