ZAUBERSPRÜCHE

Faun play a rather modern form of pagan folk that combines a host of medieval and traditional instruments with programmed digital sequences, synthesizers and drone (mostly from a hurdy-gurdy). There are actually quite a few groups around today doing this sort of thing, but Faun add an interesting twist with lyrics in a variety of tongues including some that are pretty much unrecognizable and I suppose are either regional dialects or semi-extinct.

The overall mood of this debut release is rather somber, with vocalists Fiona Rüggeberg and Lisa Pawelke resorting to medieval chanting most of the time and slipping into almost monotonous harmonies on tracks like “Nechein Man” and “Tempus Transit”. Elsewhere the band adopts a more airy mood with woodwinds and acoustic strings, most notably on the delicate “Keridwen & Gwion” and very folksy ballad “Vom Truge”.

I can’t really get very excited about this album, although some of their later work does show improvement in variety and richer, more complex textures that make it obvious this truly is just an experimental debut of an emerging talent. Most of the songs are pretty even, although the closing “Troum Und Spiegelglas” goes on too long for my tastes considering the main instrumentation consists mostly of Jew’s harp, hurdy-gurdy and a rather annoying organ bleating in the background. Otherwise the songs are mildly interesting but a little too dark for my tastes.

I would recommend that band’s 2007 studio release ‘Totem’ over this one if you are new to the music; otherwise this is a decent record for those who have already taken a liking to Faun’s music. I won’t really recommend ‘Zaubersprüche’ to anyone but fans, and therefore a two star rating is the only thing that makes sense.

peace