Make Your Move

Trad.Attack! are a phenomenon in Estonia, their homeland, where since their inception in 2013 the trio have swept the board at the country's annual music awards. They have showcased their winning blend of Eastern European traditional music and all-stops-out punk rock – an onslaught tempered by moments of drone-infused delicacy -in over 37 countries, and had intended to play in every country in the world until they were stymied by circumstance. Here instead is their fourth album, Make Your Move, a work crafted from improvisation – they often create melodies over creaky audio archives – and layered over what feels like a ticking bomb.

Socially acerbic opener ‘Rikas Sittus’ (Rich Man Shat) is out of the gate with power chords, distorted electronica and driving kit drums, joined by heavy metal-style male chants both stirring and uplifting. ‘Pass-pass’ finds rock-chick frontwoman and instrumentalist Sandra Vabarna singing incantations amid swirling, crashing fury. ‘Vanamees’ (Old Man) takes lyrics from two 19th-century folk tunes and sets them to rat-a-tat drum beats, dragging them into the 21st century. Featuring Estonian singer-songwriter Vaiko Eplik on guest harmonies, ‘Armasta Mind’ (Love Me) is a cat's cradle of acoustic strums, trombone hollers and fragile glockenspiel tinks; Vabarna's lead vocals are perfectly, lovingly placed. Elsewhere, twanging jaw harp and keening Estonian bagpipes (notably on the traditional ‘Haned-luiged’) come neatly supplemented by electronic loops and reverb. An album, then, that rewards daring: a kinetic, time-travelling delight.