Sirom: In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper review | Jude Rogers' folk album of the month

"Some bands use a variety of traditional instruments to make music and then there are Sirom. A trio that formed a decade ago over interests in post-rock and drone (their name means around or widely in their native Slovenian), they list more than two dozen instruments in the liner notes of their fifth album, from the Persian gheychak to the Mongolian morin khuur. They create a palette that's kaleidoscopic in its textural, dynamic and melodic explorations of sound."

"Album opener Between the Fingers the Drops of Tomorrow's Dawn merges repetitive, buoyant patterns on the balafon (a West African xylophone) with chiming lyres and bowed passages on the guembri (a Moroccan string instrument, which here recalls the work of the late double bassist Danny Thompson at his most agile). Tiny Dewdrop Explosions Cracking Delightfully has a title like a lost Cocteau Twins B-side, but comes across like a soundtrack to the movement of a gnarly, chirrupping sprite."

"The longest, The Hangman's Shadow Fifteen Years On, stretches to a more ominous 19 minutes. Sparse string phrases lead us to the manic blowing of a fipple flute, suggesting a life at its limit, that then slowly decays. An acoustic resonator guitar and the clatter of various objects point to the present day, but the mix of traditional instruments, gnashing and clashing, also swirls us into a vortex of time travel."

Sirom formed a decade ago over interests in post-rock and drone. Their name means around or widely in Slovenian. They list more than two dozen instruments in the liner notes of their fifth album, from the Persian gheychak to the Mongolian morin khuur. The ensemble creates a kaleidoscopic palette through textural, dynamic and melodic explorations. Album opener Between the Fingers the Drops of Tomorrow's Dawn combines repetitive balafon patterns with chiming lyres and bowed guembri passages. Other tracks move from sprite-like, cacophonous climaxes to intimate humming and ululation. The Hangman's Shadow Fifteen Years On unfolds over 19 ominous minutes that mix sparse strings, flying flutes, and resonant objects into time-traveling soundscapes.

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