Veenstra - Map of the Limbo (2016) EN

Here comes a real gem straight from the Land of Coffee. Veenstra means "sounds of forest, city, sea and beyond", it means also a band from Curitiba, Brazil. And their "Map of the Limbo" is one of the most complete albums of the last part of 2016.

It tells the story of an Ana who is looking for a map of her life (the one mentioned in the title) that would tell her which paths to take. But while searching she realizes that, surprise, surprise, there's no map and from now on Ana has to live without help, from one moment to another. "Map of the Limbo" is full of unique music, very intimate and sometimes very folk-like, especially in slow songs in which subtle vocal dances together with airy backing vocals (as in "Truth Be Told"). But it is a trap. Veenstra's music likes to get unchained and starts floating towards dangerously loud post-rock ("Memory Lake", "Curtains"). But it's still always full of magic and reminds me of dirty with noisy guitars folk by Fuzzy Lights. And the female vocal that cuts in in some songs sounds as if simply taken from Piano Magic. Veenstra likes also using quite non-obvious instruments - there's e.g. accordion, ukulele or bongos. The album is really leveled, it's difficult to point out one track that can be called "the best", some of them get stuck in your head though, like "Hard Heart" with touching chorus, "Mono no Aware" with monumental pipe organ-like sounds or "Memory Lake" that was already mentioned. Really difficult to chose.

The whole thing creates a perfectly composed story that catches you from the very first notes and won't let you forget about itself after the last crescendo. A strong candidate for the album of the year award (but which year? It was released on December 28th...)

What's even more, "Map of the Limbo" is available for "pay what you want"!

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