Le Vent Du Nord

There must be few souls alive who could resist Le Vent du Nord's boundless joie de vivre. And there was certainly no resistance in Finstown, as the band raised the roof with a jubilant maelstrom of prodigiously bouncy dance-tunes, also featuring hurdy-gurdy, accordion, bouzouki, piano, jaw-harp, guitar and electric bass, garlanded with lustily compelling five-part vocals, which, in one thrillingly throttled-back a cappella number, recalled the numinous, spine-tingling modalities of Gregorian chant () With Brunet [Andr] on board, their sound's scale and intricacy are fast evolving into fresh dimensions, manifest in some sets looser, boldly freewheeling arrangements; in lashings of red-blooded honky-tonk brio, and in umpteen insouciant virtuoso flourishes, like one medley's cheeky wee disco-funk intro, dashed off on fiddle, jaw-harp and fat bass licks.