Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
For all that the British like to imagine that they have more in common with their Southern European friends, that the heat that comes off the African plains and enthuses the life of those who call the Mediterranean home is more linked to their D.N.A, than anything that comes from the Northern reaches of Europe, the blood of Scandinavia, it only takes a listen to the charms of groups such as Boreas to understand just how much that position is reversed.
It is the sound of the ancients, of a time when the lands of Norway, Demark and Sweden were forged with those of Britain in commerce and in rule, in battle and in community and the tune of a welcome was played out in beautiful meaning and in the art of the passed down verbal story and music guided, not so much by principle but by desire. It is in that desire that Boreas’ debut album Ahoy Ahoy makes a timely and riveting entrance into the hearts and minds of fans of the music that the band employs.
The blending and alliance that is formed between the heather and mystic realms of Scotland and the Norwegian is not so much traversed by longboat across the storm driven North Sea, it is controlled and wild, it is paced by a true blessing of likeminded souls and this splendid debut is a testament to the complex and wonderfully elaborate feelings of joy that whelm up inside the body as each note drives home the intensity invoked. ]
The connection that is made in the album between Britt Pernille Froholm, Lori Watson, Irene Tillung and Rachel Newton is astonishing, it strikes like a bolt of lightning but instead of the supposed devastation and the mark of scorched Earth left in its wake, instead it brings a message of joy and hope, of natural peace in amongst the chaos and it is a charm of skill that makes the listener crave more.
Tracks such as Sillery, Is Truagh Nach Robh Mi Comhla Riut, Samueline and Rudl captivate the ear, enthuse the eagerness in the soul and dispel the notion that the story between the nations of the North is one consigned to history’s simmering furnace; instead it is only forged tighter than steel. A dramatic and involved debut, one of elegance and beauty, it is arguably a time to say hello to a new way of thinking and Ahoy Ahoy offer that in full.
Ian D. Hall