Review Summary: Earthly jams from a simpler time
My first contact with Sirom was a live gig back in 2017, when they were an opening act for Tinariwen at their concert in Slovenia, the trio's homeland. While they were touted as the next big thing in free-/avant-folk music (at least regionally), I was at the time thoroughly unimpressed by their musical offering - the experienced multi-instrumentalists, at least to me, seemed to be presenting a half-cooked product, not having developed any ideas past the idea to play as many diverse instruments as possible. Nonetheless, the trio has received high praise and overall positive reviews, to my bewilderment. Perhaps I'm simply too well-versed in improvisation and traditional music and am thus the only one who can see past their folly, the only one who dares call out that the emperor is naked?
Over 4 years have passed now, and Sirom are now at their fourth studio album - and their praise has only increased since then. Not expecting much, I decided to give them a second chance: perhaps I judged too hastily? perhaps they have fleshed out more since, and their proficiency with the instruments they play as naรฏve artists - rather than trained in each specific tradition - is now adequate that I will be able to groove with them, rather than just shrug my head at their attempts to present aimless impressions of folk music as some kind of cerebral jam that deliberately sounds that way?
Indeed, from the first track I was pleasantly surprised. The instruments may not be used in a traditional or particularly technically impressive way, but they do a tremendous job at conjuring the atmosphere - indeed, of a dream-like, introspective acoustic jam. A strong bass groove (in the first jam - other jams are held together in a similar manner by different background instruments) helps hold everything together, and the "weird instruments" are no longer a distraction, but each add their specific timbre that gives the final multilayered offering an unique character. The trio also seems to refrain from putting instruments they obviously aren't proficient with up in front or alone (or perhaps the additional 4 years of jamming helped that much?), instead using them only as drones when their timbre is specifically needed.
Overall, if I was ready for another disappointment when opening their bandcamp page, I ended up actually liking the jam quite much. While there is not much groundbreaking being presented here, it's overall a very well-rounded acoustic improvisation, with a good idea of utilization of timbre and texture, that conjures a warm pastoral meditative ambient. A down-to-earth jam of a laid back folk from a simpler time, who know how to take their time and enjoy life.
