Antipodes

This ill-Focused collection of ‘found sound’ excerpts mixed in with live performances – conducted, presumably, on the streets – and mumbled or shouted interjections by members of the public frustrates more than it engages. The album was recorded by the Fratelli brothers during a 21-day tour from Ghent to Auckland, New Zealand, in 2015. It's not clear which instruments, if any, the brothers themselves actually play, although Pablo Golder provides decent diatonic accordion, and Baltazar Montanaro contributes baritone violin.

The original compositions include several pleasant easy-going waltzes, and use is made of the roar of the south seas as atmospheric background noise – perhaps too much use. Disappointingly, there's no input in evidence from indigenous (Maori) musicians – or Pacific Islanders. While it is vaguely reassuring that people see fit to release such an underwhelming disc, you are reminded of the ‘unnecessary plastic objects’ that Nanci Griffith once sang of.