Strovilos

This is another winner from the class act that brought us the great albums Zivo and Samás. Here they are joined by three well-known Greek singers who help to embed this new venture firmly in the contemporary folk scene of the country. All of these are originals and they have pushed the electronic boat out a little more on some of the tracks, all while retaining their trademark catchy rhythms and melodic sense of the wider Balkans.

Opening and closing with more electronically-minded tracks, including the rather surreal ‘On the Street’, which would make a fantastic soundtrack, the middle songs are closer to a more traditional sound. The album's gentle title-track (Whirlwind) rather belies its name and the improvisational opening of ‘Rotten Luck’ is particularly good. Don't miss, however, the heavily rebetika-inspired ‘I Ease the Day’ or the rhythmic bounce of ‘Karmic’ which display the energy the group is well known for. If this latest offering is anything to go by, Trio Tekke seem to be going from strength to strength and remain one of the most interesting neo-rebetika groups on the scene.