Myrkur (4) – Folkesange

After giving Myrkur's “Mareridt” a few spins, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by Amalie Brunn’s vocal excellence and range, while she navigated both musical light and darkness.

And yet I must acknowledge that it was her clean, melodic that truly got my attention.
At certain moments, her voice felt like the closest thing to that of a sorceress, a female druid or priestess that was reaching out to me from an ancient, remote time and I for one couldn’t avoid thinking how nice it would be to have her singing in a purely folk album.

Be careful with what you wish for: 3 years later the aptly titled “Folkesange” was released, with Myrkur ditching the metal sonorities and focusing on the folk side of her creative spectra, with (in my opinion) spectacular results.

Backed by traditional and period instruments mostly played by herself including cello, mandola, viola, strakharpa, violin, lyre or nyckelharpa, Myrkur goes through a dozen Scandinavian folk standards using “just” her clean voice. I quoted “just” on purpose, as Amalie shows all throughout the album how her vocal versatility is way beyond the mere switch from clean to shrieking vocals, as she can summon plenty of moods and soundscapes.

That being said, with few exceptions where light seems to take over (“Harpens Kraft”, “The Leaves Of Ygdrassil” or the middle section of “Svea”), “Folkesange” honours its creator’s artistic name by being shrouded in a feeling of primal, ancient and eerie dark paganism that emanates of the ritual-like performance of these songs, from the summon dance spirit of “Harpens Kraft”, “Fager Som En Ros” or the magnificent take on “House Carpenter” (a personal favourite) to the solemnity of “Ramund” or the more elegiac tone of “Reiar” or “Vinter”.

“Folkesange” is, in summary, the perfect showcase for Myrkur’s unique, heartfelt and beautiful clean voice that fits like a glove in songs that stirred the soul of this sun-soaked Mediterranean guy while stomping around the shadowy British forests not that long ago. Not a small feature by any means.