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Rating: ★★★★

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Album and Artist Details

Artist/band:

The Rheingans Sisters

Label:

Rheingans Sisters Records

November/2024

You would expect from The Rheingans Sisters, Rowan and Anna, the assertion of female autonomy, and ‘Devils’, their take on the ballad about the farmer's wife thrown out of Hell for duffing up the devils, delivers. As do ‘Un Voltigeur’ and ‘Si Sabiatz Drolletas’, dire warnings against commitment to men. You would expect, too, this international aspect to their new album, which, with ‘Brädsmarsch’, ‘Livet Behöver Inga Droger’ and ‘Shade Chaser’, also embraces the fiddle traditions of Sweden and Québec. Rowan's song, ‘Drink Up’, responds to the malaise of late capitalism, and ‘Over & Over Again’ is a mantra, chanted in reaction to the horrors of contemporary conflicts. Such engagement is also to be expected from The Rheingans Sisters. So, what's new; what's surprising? Their range (from The Velvet Underground's John Cale to Purcell); their creaky fiddle, jaw harp, hefty beats, triangle, fading harmonics; the aliveness of their singing. But none of these delights is surprising, either: it's The Rheingans Sisters – expect the unexpected.

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