Blue White Gold

It has already been a decade since Danes Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (fiddle), Nikolaj Busk (piano and accordion) and Swede Ale Carr (cittern) formed Dreamers’ Circus. After their boundary pushing third album Rooftop Sessions comes their fourth, a breezy and occasionally nostalgic release called Blue White Gold. It's a warm, lyrical affair of 12 tracks offering a hopeful lift in these dark times (and don't we need it…). It is a mix of Scandinavian tunes, enlivened with minimalist riffs, peppered with jazz harmonies. You'll undoubtedly love the title-track, which is wonderfully expansive with lilting and sweeping melodies, surging harmonies that bookend the hushed piano tones in the middle. Equally, there's nostalgia and melancholia in the opening track ‘North of Trondheim’. While contrastingly the echoes of Shostakovich in ‘Pentamime’ offers some fun and playfulness.

Compared to the last album, there's more material explored, less improvisation and more overt references to Scandinavian folk tunes. This perhaps echoes the band's first two releases. Don't feel the group have put the brakes on though – there's continued innovation such as gentle electronics in tracks like ‘No News’. A must-listen-to album this summer.