Zar - Tusind Tanker

Tusind Tanker is Danish for “A Thousand Thoughts” and the first thought that leapt into my mind upon hearing the lead track, “Sensommervise,” was “Why is America exporting AOR?” With its faux-jazz arrangement, “Sensommervise” (which apparently translates to “late summer song” in English) sounds like it could be a staple of adult-oriented or adult contemporary or middle-of-the-road or whatever demographers call it now radio. It was disconcerting to find myself in the land inhabited by the likes of Norah Jones and the Dave Matthews Band. However, the song does have a redeeming quality and it is the voice of Sine Lauristen. Since the vocals are in Danish I can’t be sure if she’s crooning about a lover or about a cheeseburger. Either way, with her voice at the fore of the mix, it’s hard not to be smitten with her pipes. They are powerful and rich and pull the tune along. The band’s web site claims that producer Peter Stengaard ensured that the music was done in a “modern jazzy way.” For a band that traffics in traditional folk material, this seemed a bit odd.

Fortunately, the band didn’t let the machinations of their producer distract them from their cause. “Jeg kan se på dine øjne,” which follows, is a traditional song that the band gives a very modern take on – but not jazzy. Again Lauristen steps up with her voice which is set against Steffan Søgaard Sørensen’s double bass and some stray violin from Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen. The vocal melody is blatantly catchy and gives a hint as to Lauristen’s range. But, if that wasn’t enough, the song kicks into a fantastic instrumental break. The violin becomes ecstatic and is complemented by some electric guitar from Rasmus Zeeberg. It is this blending of traditional and contemporary instruments together that gives the song a patina of the modern.

“Bøhmerdans” and “Danske reels” each pair a couple of traditional dance tunes from different parts of Denmark. Both begin with acoustic guitar before the violin plies its magic. They remind me of Fairport Convention's all-acoustic Old, New, Borrowed, Blue. The melancholy title track which relates the story of a woman who has lost her love would have sounded right at home on the second disc of Fairport alum Richard Thompson’s You Me Us.

Stengaard does occasionally have his way as with “Kælighedstræet” but the lapses are momentary. The album has the character of a palimpsest with the traditional layered over the new. There’s no mistaking Tusind Tanker for a purely revivalist affair but the band wears its collective folky heart on its sleeve.

For more on all things Zar, head over to their web site.

(This was originally published at The Green Man Review back in 2003-04.)