ZAUBERSPRÜCHE

The most progressive aspect to FAUN's debut is that anyone outside of the intractible folk scene was performing this type of music at all in 2002. Whatever "cool" could be connected with Northern European folk was usually processed through a musical cuisinart into ENYA, and that trick was simply recycled after its 1988 smash, chiefly by ENYA herself. I suppose BLACKMORE's night could be counted as another success, but are they really taking themselves seriously? Because I think FAUN is.

This is familiar and not particularly striking, but extremely well played, a kind of amalgam of Gothic folk from Northern lands. Groups like SILEAS, CLANNAD, MUZSIKAS' , BROSELMASCHINE, and even WHITE WILLOW and PERERIN all come to mind at different times, as well as a few limbs snapped right off the main branch of the Celtic family tree - think ANDY IRVINE and DAVEY SPILLANE's collaborations. This is dark and ominous music that, at its best, hypnotically captures a sense of foreboding much like a classic vampire flick, and I don't mean the modern versions with the beautiful young people cavorting about. The male and female harmony vocals, the hurdy gurdy, the didgeridoo, and the mournful melodies all thicken the atmosphere in a manner rarely achieved since DEEP FOREST's "Boheme", which actually featured MUZSIKAS' Marta Sebastyen.

While all but the longest tracks hold interest and sway, Zauberspruche lacks any sort of wow factor, even if "Tempus Transit", "Des Wasserman's Web", "Keridwen and Gwion", and "Konig Von Thgule" are all more than impressive in a contained sort of way. The album title translates to "Magical Language", and I suppose the goal is partially achieved, proving that one doesn't have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to graduate from magic school, but rather avoid conjuring up a skunk.