Sturmpercht — Schattenlieder

‘Schattenlieder’ sees Sturmpercht return with their 4th album of Alpine Folk- the genre they invented that mixers together elements neo folk, more traditional Austrian / south Bavarian folk, with experimental  & creative edger’s. The album as a whole shows a darker, denser more atmospheric side to the band, sure there still the drinking & buoyant accordion ribbed songs of the past here. But on the whole the album more thoughtful, dense & darker; almost like the band have gone into deeper, darker Austrian forests for their influence & vibe.

The albums full title is Schattenlieder - eine kleine Nachtmusik für Waldteufel und Berggeister(Shade songs -little night music for forest devils and mountain spirits) which is extremely apt for the darker/richer sprit & tone of the album. Each track is built from a rich, atmospheric mixture of  layers of  acoustic & electric guitars, violins, flutes, Accordion, piano, Harmonium, Jews harp,  Germanic brass samples, spirited male Germanic vocals & forest harmonies, cleverly placed forest &  rural bound field recordings, and all manner of dramatic & cleverly placed sounds & instrumental textures. There’s more dabbling and mixing of folk/rock flavours this time around; with also some subtle electronic textures & ruralised/ rusted & moss licked electro beat patterns in place too, which hint at more dramatic & thoughtful junk band elements. Yet neither of theses elements ever take away from the musics forest & hunt bound sprit or charm.

As with the other three Sturmpercht albums there’s a lot of music on offer here- in all there are twenty tracks & near on 80 minutes of music which is all varied, consistent & wholly enjoyable & atmospheric through-out. A few of my favourite tracks come in the form of the creaking, bowing & grinding forest like cabaret feel of  the track 'Stechapfelnacht' which mixers together bowed & drunken string work samples, cluttering & bending wooden or earthy junk percussion & Jew harps hypnotic chirp. The sombre winter hymn like rise of 'Winterreigen' with it’s dramatically  mesh of dark harmonic picked acoustic guitars, deep & shadowy woodland barber shop meets ritual male voice harmonising & dramatic lead Germanic vocals. The stuck Germanic drinking music brass  meets darkly hued & slightly discordant spaghetti western electric guitar twang of  'Mitten In Da Noch't. Or the truly wonderful  thigh slapping & stein slamming pan pipe led  folk/ rock alpine jig that is 'Die Teufelsgeiger' which leads the album out in wonderful upbeat & cheery form.

On the whole ‘Schattenlieder’ is a lot more about creating the dark, earthy sometimes slightly off-kilter spirit & vibe of the forest. Sure there are buoyant & memorable tracks on offer here, but the focus is certainly more about creating  rich, sometimes dense atmospheres than just simply tuneful song craft.For much of it’s playing time it’s certainty not as instant or as harmonically approachable as the bands other three albums; it’s an album you have to give time to grow & blossom in your mind. But when it does click trust me Sturmpercht really do manage to take you on a magical, dark, slightly twisted journey through the Alpine forests; their legends, animals & seasons.