Neighbourhood

Floating Sofa Quartet are a pan-Scandinavian instrumental group hailing from Sweden, Denmark and Finland. In this second album, they've focused on reinterpreting traditional melodies – a departure from a debut album of new compositions. The liner notes are an enjoyable read, capturing the personal reflections and close associations with the tunes.

Notably clean playing throughout delivers a tidy set of interpretations. The satisfying close-micing of Leija Lautamaja's accordion on ‘Näckens Vals’ is a real joy.

Overall, though, there is a lack of variation and imagination compared with other new releases from Scandinavia. I was left wanting more attack in the playing style and more harmonic experimentation. Much of the album feels a bit conservative. That's not to say it's bad: there's a wonderful cinematic quality to ‘Skånebitar’, where the jaunty melody playing of Mads Kjøller-Henningsen on the Swedish bagpipe and Clara Tesch on fiddle stunningly contrasts with the surging harmonies of Lautamaja on accordion. A lively rendition of ‘Lørdag Aften Polka’ has a wonderfully rich texture created by the bowing of Malte Zeberg on double bass. A real shame, then, that these are the only highlights.