Le Vent du Nord
Dans les Airs (Borealis)
ESSENTIAL "Rosette"
When it comes to rhythm, Le Vent du Nord is loaded, as the crisp pulse of these nearly forgotten songs for dancing, drinking, and flirting shows. And there's not a drum nor beatbox within earshot. Instead, the Quebec quartet (French for "North Wind") uses singing, guitar, accordions, hurdy-gurdy, bass, piano, mandolin, and the foot-tapping ("pieds") of fiddler Olivier Demers to mine an acoustic Acadian groove with French, Irish, and Native American roots. There are similarities to a Cajun waltz here ("Petit Rêve III"), a French café tune there ("La Veillée chez Poirer"), and Irish jigs and Scottish reels ("La Traversee" "Du Labrador à Montmagny"). "Tour à Bois" spins a word game that links the circular turns of the hurdy-gurdy, wood lathes, and rounds of song. A melodic and rhythmic savvy persists, infusing the album with the personable energy that made these songs kitchen-party favorites in the first place. [Tristram Lozaw]
Le Vent du Nord performs Sunday at Emerson Umbrella (40 Stow St., Concord). Tickets are $20-$25 at 781-862-7837 or music-for-robin.org.
