Huun-Huur-Tu - Ancestor's Call
Recommended by: Frownland (2/3 on good recs thus far)
So this is like, Tuvan throat singing or whatever. I honestly have no idea whatsoever as for what to expect going into this. From what I can gather through Google searches, they seem to be highly regarded within the genre, I think. Here's hoping I can enjoy it...
Mazhalyk-Ta: So in case it wasn't clear by the song titles, the vocals in these songs aren't in English. All the instruments featured seem to be rather unique, and their throat singing features prominently in their music as well. This song doesn't grab me immediately, as it's fairly slow. Definitely not what I expected, although I'm sure it will get weird sooner than later. Oh wow, a second vocalist is in now, or it's the first one employing some strange technique, it kind of sounds like he's forcing out a huge **** if I'm being totally honest here.
Kozhamyk: The pace is picking up for this one. A fun little bit of music here, nothing that blows me away but I can certainly enjoy it. The other vocalist is back and still ****ting himself. Oh damn, we're getting some throat singing I believe. That was super cool, he held that for a long time and the way it has a sort of droney almost didgeridoo kind of sound certainly fits their style.
Eki Attar: Very nice tribal drum beat behind this one. I know very little of both whatever this genre is, and music from... Russia? I don't know. RYM says Russian Federation so we'll go with that. Anyway, this song is just as good as the one that came before it. It has this strange 'dancibility' to it, I just want to tap my foot and nod my head. I'm a little bit nervous for the 8 minute track coming up, but if it stays like this all should be fine.
Orphan's Lament: A very cinematic opening to this track. It's much slower, I guess I would compare it to the opening cut. It hasn't been bad so far, but I have to say I prefer when these guys are taking a more upbeat approach to their sound. For an 8 minute track, there really isn't much else to say about this.
Eerbek Asky: Awhhh yee, we're picking the pace back up. I like to imagine this song is the outlaw country of Tuvan throat singing. This album is just so weird and fun, I love it.
Remembering Ulaatai River: This one opens with... holy ****, are they doing that with their voices? It sounds like a flute. It's definitely his voice though, that's amazing. This track seems to be just one member, he's singing and, well, throat singing too.
Konguroi (Sixty Horses in my Herd): Beautiful strings/guitar work to open up this track. There's a very vivid soundscape behind this one. I feel like these guys would put on an astonishing show, just because of the atmosphere of their music. This one is very folky, another great track.
Saryglarar: Another 8 minute track. A very slow start, I'm hoping to see things pick up a little bit more throughout the track. I don't dislike this one, but it is one of the least interesting cuts so far. A lot of very pretty moments though, especially near the end.
Chyraa-Khoor (Yellow Pacer): Wow, this one is great. This is another song that I feel would translate very well to a live setting, just because there's so much going on at once. Is it a violin I keep hearing, or some sort of equivalent?
Odugen Taiga: Wonderful use of strings at the beginning of this one. This almost sounds like something you could hear playing in a coffee shop... maybe like, a very well cultured and foreign coffee shop or something. This is easily my favourite of the 8+ minute tracks, the little bit of ambience and nature sounds at the end is a great addition.
Prayer: Just a standard vocal only track. Nothing worth noting after what I've already heard this album.
Ancestors: Definitely a strong way to finish the album. There's a certain element of repetition behind this song. As it progresses it almost becomes trance like.
Final Verdict: What a ****ing album. I went into this hoping that I wouldn't hate it, and came out of it loving it. Obviously I lack any sort of familiarity with the genre, and that makes it hard to go into an album and know what you're hearing. With this thing though, the sheer beauty of the arrangements won me over, not to mention the remarkable vocal ability. For any of you uncultured ****s like me who never even considered checking out anything to do with throat singing, I would highly recommend giving this thing a chance. It's a definite pass for Huun-Huur-Tu.