EP REVIEW: Den Ondes Fingrar – Undantagsfolk

In the age of the Internet, an insatiable demand for revolutionary ideas has festered. Fads fade faster than they have before, and artistic commodities can go from thrilling to woefully uncool, to the point where mere reference of their existence is enough to cause distress. Perhaps it is due to this climate of desperately seeking what’s fresh and exciting that folk has been enjoying a revival of popularity. Intrinsically reverent to the past, folk music has a certain quality that is alluring in the modern landscape, and it is produced to an exceptional standard here by UNDANTAGSFOLK.

UNDANTAGSFOLK are a duo who hail from rural Sweden, compromising of members Êlea (NOÊTA) and Erik (GRIFT) who each provide wildly different, but complimentary, deeply personal contributions to the musical landscape. Elea’s haunting birdsong partners with Erik’s weathered bellow for a startling companionship, and one that sees a fruitful musical partnership here on Den Ondes Fingrar, their debut EP.

Like in most folk music, the music itself is written as a supplement to the stories they tell. In this case, it is based around well-known, while arcane, tales of rural Sweden, providing a flavour which seems entirely unique to them. While Scandinavian folk music is nothing new, and many of the tales they share are known throughout the world, the abstract nature of their telling here is all the more enveloping. Performing on nylon stringer guitars and harmonium, complimented superbly with ambient, arcane vocal harmonies.

The music produced here is both barren and overwhelming as a haunting sparseness somehow melds with a rich, harmonious warmth,. An alluring mix of Grouper, Lonndom and Anna von Hausswolff, the duo succeed in pairing both the all-encompassing beauty present in folk, as well as the unearthing sinister quality which it is capable of displaying, providing a truly enthralling soundscape. The pair also take direct influence from the folk-tinged works of ULVER, who were famed for exploring these territories while still clinging to their unnerving strain of black metal, and a similar template is adopted here. Much like ULVER, the music never becomes entirely inviting, often keeping its gentle strokes at full-extended arm’s reach. There is something entirely intriguing about music which manages to both welcome the listener in, as well as maintain that distance which allows the necessary quality of the fantastical to remain, and UNDANTAGSFOLK have already shown a talent for that here.

For a debut 7”, there is terrific potential on display here. While, currently, it is difficult to project exactly where UNDANTAGSFOLK will explore next, it is clear their talent and proficiency has put them in good stead to do such exploring. The pair’s chemistry is palpable even within 10 minutes, and it does a superb job of whetting the palette for an album. However, Den Ondes Fingrar does enough to keep those wolves at bay, and provides sufficient evidence that this duo are ones to watch.

Rating: 7/10

Den Ondes Fingrar is out now via Nordvis Produktion.

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