Boira Fusca - Baravantan

Boira Fusca are Matteo Pecchenino (Accordion and keyboards), Gilberto Rapelli (guitars), Elisabetta Bosio (fiddle), Mauro Biasio (drums and vocals), and Simone Zamuner (double bass), a new folk-rock collective heading from north-west Italy, but heavily influenced by the musical traditions of the British Isles. Their debut album Baravantan, recorded with some guest musicians including singer Nari, is an energetic collection of tunes and songs, some traditional, some self-penned.

The release’s title is a dialect word meaning “eccentric”, or “out of the box”, and the work lives up to its name. In instrumentals like the opening, ever-changing The Maid, the subsequent The Dance of the Oso, and the fast-paced L’Alquemista Loco the quintet presents a captivating, and playful sound, in which fiddle and accordion lead the melody, floating round each other on a strong, but never overwhelming rock substrate.

The dainty Scarborough Fair, with its ethereal arrangement, and the prog rock inspired County Geek, with its many twists and turns over eight and a half minutes, are the best examples of how the band can approach songs in distinctive fashion
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Before coming to a grand close with the atmospheric The Wild Atlantic Way, the album presents also a couple of unexpected moments, namely the delicate, beautifully crafted instrumental medley Donna’s Waltz and the pirate-esque Turkish Son of the Damned, further confirming the collective’s eclectic approach to both old and new material.

The interplay between the members of the quintet is the real strength of this record. Combining folk songs and tunes with a voluminous rock backing could sometimes result into a slightly disconnected sound; however, despite the different nature of the pieces they engage with, Boira Fusca manage to create fluid, cohesive soundscapes throughout the release.
Baravantan is an album that feels at the same time light-hearted and at times emotional. Definitely a well-crafted first effort for this talented collective; one can only wonder where they will go next.