ZAUBERSPRÜCHE

Zaubesprüche is Faun's first release from a major music label. The album has a sound throughout--especially the first three songs--that makes it sound as if it were harnessed straight from the stages of Renaissance Fairs. The band has a very warm and engaging sound--which is captured very nicely through some very nice engineering. The individual performances are not quite as tight and polished as they could be but, again, the sound is great (better, IMO than on quiet Licht or the washed out & over-produced Von den Elben). The mood captured on Zubersprüche is quite relaxing though mesmerizing. I can imagine sitting on my wooden bench beneath a cool August night sky being lulled into a pleasantly hypnotic state by these songs. The vocals have a ways to go before they reach the heights of Renaissance, with Oliver and their harmonies, in particular, as yet unpolished.

Favorite songs: the amazing jewel of the album (and its finale), "Troum und Speigelglas" (7:37) (10/10); Oliver and Fiona's gorgeous "Das Wassermanns Welb" (3:31) (9/10); the Alan Stivell-like instrumental, "Keridwen & Gwion" (3:08) (9/10); "König Von Thule" (3:23) (8/10), and; "Tempus Transit" (4:16) (8/10).