Valravn : 'Valravn' (2007) & 'Koder pa snor' (2009)

To whit : for the past week and a half, I’ve been undergoing a musical endavour that has proved to be much more of a crucible than I was expecting. Even though I won’t say what it is right now, I’ll tell you that, to be sure, it has proved to be one of the more trying auditions I ever experienced.
So much so that to keep myself sane, I decided to listen to other stuff in between. I guess I’m still a few days away from deciding whether or not I liked that particular ordeal I’ve been putting myself through, so in the meantime I’ll be reporting on the great stuff I’ve been listening to.
So, first up, and all the way from Denmark, we have Valravn. And what do these guys sound like? Well, they sound like a celtic/folk combo, with some splashes, here and there (more prominent on the second album) of minimalist electronica. Sung in, you guessed it, Danish. And you know what? Against all odds – or probably despite them… - it all works out smoothly.
To be fair, there isn’t anything terribly original at work here, after all, and to some degree, bands like Subway to Sally, In Extremo, Saltatio Mortis, and even Skyclad are guilty of ateempting this kind of stuff before. But this… this is different. It’s, for one, a much gentler type of sound, and that’s mainly due to the great vocals of the lead singer. Unsurprisingly, for so it would seem that pretty much everyone that comes from Northern Europe sings just like her, she has a Bjork-ish voice, but only very slightly. The beauty of her voice is how angry she sometimes seems – there’s some nifty pieces of yelling to be found here. Musically, well, if you’re into folk music, then you know what to expect here. The twist being the excellent programming and deft use of electronic elements to add even more depth to the songs. Sure and you’ll find your foot tapping to these jigs in no time, and as much as you could wish otherwise, expect a good dose of the shaking of the hips. You’ll not understand a word of what she says (unless you’re Danish or speak it fluently, that is), but that’s ok. Valravn are bloody good, and it’s one of the best finds in recent years.
They have released a couple of albums, as far as I can ascertain. The first is self-titles, and the second, issued last year, has the promising name of ‘Koder pa snor’, whatever that means. I enjoyed them both a great deal, and though on the second one you find much better production values and a more widespread use of the aforementioned electronics, I somehow found myself more drawn to the first album, but that’s probably because I only just recently downloaded the second album and still haven’t listened to it as much as I did the first one.

Valravn – Valravn (2007)

1: Hedebys
2: Dromte mig en drom
3: Krummi
4: Svend i Rosengaard
5: Marsk
6: Vallevan
7: Under bolgen blaa
8: Olavur Riddararos
9: Kom alle vaesener
10: Bialowieska
11: Harra Paetur og Elinborg

Valravn - Koder pa snor (2009)

1:Koder pa snor
2:Kelling
3:Sjon
4:Kraka
5:Seersken
6:Fuglar
7:Kroppar
8:Lysabild
9:Farin ut tan at vera vekk