Birds

A strange, compelling concept album from a family folk trio from Siberia who are deservedly well-known across Russia. Vedan Kolod are led by Tatiana Naryshkina and Valerii Naryshkin, who both sing, often providing edgy and eerie harmonies, and between play a variety of ancient instruments, some of them restored by Valerii, and including the vargan (a jaw harp), gurli (part of the zither family), Scythian harp and svirel flute along with drums, guitar, kalimba and wooden horn. Joined by Daryana Antipova and, for the first time, percussionist Alisa Naryshkina, they have recorded an album about birds because ‘they are more common in Russian folk tradition than other animals.’ Naryshkina also cites them as “a symbol of hope [and] change,” though there is a bleak edge to the non-traditional songs written by Valerii. The opening ‘Peahen’ sets the mood, with Tatiana’s strident, attacking vocals matched against intense acoustic backing. Valerii takes the lead on another traditional song, ‘The Cuckoo’, backed by twanging jaw harp, and the duo provide thrilling harmony work on ‘Aviatrix’, Valerii’s story of a battle between a falcon and a snake. On the atmospheric title-track, he switches from spoken passages to growled echoes of throat-singing as he tells a story of migrating birds looking down on armies fighting below, while those who are going to die look up at the sky.