Vieux Loup – The Acorn (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

After three albums and nearly ten years steering the musical ship, by 2011 Rolf Klausener felt as if he had lost perspective on his musical vehicle, The Acorn, felt trapped, exhausted, out of control. The result was a musical hiatus that saw the other members of the band scatter across the country and Rolf hole up in cottage re-examining him music via old demos and quiet contemplation. The result is an album that is a clear departure from what took place before, one that subverts expectation yet one that runs a wonderful musical gamut from meandering disco beats to reverb soaked acoustica, from soulful minimalism to eclectic folk experimentation.

And if the songs aren’t connected by any one generic style, they are connected through a feeling, personal reflection, ambient sounds that hang in the air, soft, intimate and emotive. They exist in a place where the past meets the present, musically speaking, traditional sounding folk songs and familiar structures that have been re-interpreted through quirky electronica and atmospheric space. Not the sharp clean edges of the digital age but the softer, warmer stamp of analogue technology which seems to capture the feeling perfectly.

I suppose you could call it rustic chamber folk, if there is such a thing, but the songs often seem too unique and personal to warrant a label. This is the sound of soul searching, an artist exploring himself through his music, a late night confessional, an escape route and proof that the quietest of sounds often have the biggest impact.