HÖLDERLINS TRAUM

"Hölderlins Traum" is the debut album of the German progressive folk band Hoelderlin. This is a great album! The whole album has a dreamy and pastoral atmosphere and everything is kept pretty low key. Acoustic guitars and a few percussion instruments dominate the album, often adorned with some keyboards (mellotron and organ) and other instruments like flutes, recorders, violin and sitars. The vocal performances are great, very calm and add to the atmosphere of the album. It is all sung in German and even though I am a native English speaker, this greatly adds to the feel of the album and is something I miss in later Hoelderlin albums. The album begins with a hypnotic melody that really sets the mood for the entire album: slightly dark but dreamy. The music is obviously very folkish but also looks to classical music for influence in their song arranements. The more conventional folk songs ,,Peter'' and "Strohhalm" are good, but the band really shines with their longer pieces like "Requiem Fur Einen Wicht," "Wetterbericht" and "Traum". These really show their true capabilities. I would highly recommend this album to anyone looking for good progressive folk music that is a little different than what you would expect.

Standout songs: "Requiem Fur Einen Wicht," "Traum"