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Review from CDBaby
author: Tim Donkin
I was asked to review the latest work of the up and coming Pilsen folk/jazz band Poitin and having recently received their rather deftly named 'bolkjhgfdsa' I would like to alert the world to a rising star in this genre, if indeed they occupy any genre at all. The band was formed in the dank and atmospheric beer halls of Pilsen and has been evolving over the past ten years with various influences including Celtic, Breton and Czech folklore and thoroughly individual improvisational jazz with an element of music hall and thrash metal thrown in. The up to date version seems to mark the transition of the group from pub band to serious contributors to the contemporary scene. The production is slicker, the sound smoother the balance of instruments and voice more congruent and an adventurous range of styles and moods. The CD begins with a good old rollicking Irish stomper with strong bodhran sounds and a wide range of different instrumental improvisations before giving way to a remarkably smooth and melodious version of Calton Weaver including a transcendental instrumental break, followed by the spine tingling Hare's Lament in which the music follows the huntsmen of highlands and lowlands of rhythmic expression . The signature tune of 'Bofiguifluki' is a statement of what established worshippers would recognise as the Poitin sound, with sequences of exquisite music overlaying and building on each other to be picked up by a new instrument or arrangement culminating in a bold saxophone demonstration which pulls together the various themes of the piece into a dynamic folk jazz collection which is both emotive and danceable. The next track tells a tale of sweet innocent love inadvertently leading to a shag with an elderly lady. How old 'twice 6, 7 twice twenty and eleven' actually is depends on how lurid the listener's imagination, but the whole song is so poignantly beautiful as to make the grim denouement seem unfortunate. Poitin then skitter through a lively Cunla my dear before the bizarre and sinister Bedlam Boys, a couple more instrumental meditations leading up to the grand finale of St Patrick was a Gentleman with a panoramic instrumental build up to the tale of the slaughter of Irelands small creatures.The post script to the CD is a gentle Copperesque harmonised vocal Next Market Day which contrasts with the almost full hour of highly energetic music before. The CD as a whole is a marvellous journey through the band's repertoire and in my opinion their best album to date.
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Bofiguifluki, Listener Album Review
