Lumsk: Fremmede Toner

A decade and a half down the line from their third album Norway’s Lumsk unexpectedly return with Fremmede Toner and a continuation of their unusual blending of prog, folk, metal and a few other little things. Always at the forefront, it feels very much like Lumsk understand that vocally Mari Klingen is a real asset. Clear, fragile, forceful and yet somehow dancing from style to style, this lady really does take these songs by the scruff of the neck and bend them to her will. Her performance is both natural and flowing, something that seems to also be the intention with the music this band create, and yet, that’s not always quite the case for me.

Willing to wind their numerous approaches into the same songs, you can at one moment be gently cradled by an acoustic folk like approach on “Fiolen�, where strings and keys jig their merry way, while “Avskjed� combines pensive riffing and eerie piano before a machine gun like snare whack alters the mood significantly. Does it all seamlessly blend as intended? Not for me anyway, with the different sections occasionally feeling welded rather than blended together. However, it’s when this band really stretch out their progressive tendencies that everything does undoubtedly click. For me this is the band’s real strength, whether through the King Crimson-esque outbursts on “En Harmoni� or the more raucous romping of “Abschied�. With these sections just so enthralling, at times the less adventurous, more folk led pieces and passages fade from the memory and rather than joining the more dextrous outbursts, they merely slow the pace and not so much cause the album to lose momentum, more they point it in other directions.

I must admit that I’m not really the biggest fan of folk-prog, so some of the above hang ups may indeed be mine, rather than shortcomings from Lumsk themselves. Whatever the reason, there are moments on this album which to me are sheer brilliance and others that simply flit by without vaguely snagging my attention.

Track Listing
1. Det Døde Barn 

2. En Harmoni 

3. Avskjed 

4. Under Linden 

5. Fiolen 

6. Dagen Er Endt 

7. Das Tote Knd 

8. A Match

9. Abschied 

10. Under Der Linden 

11. Das Veilchen 

12. The Day is Done

Added: August 20th 2023
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Lumsk @ bandcamp
Hits: 467
Language: english

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