Review Summary: Instrumental dark folk, done just right
Rota Fortunae is a project creating quiet and reserved tunes (primarily acoustic guitar and cello driven) which are simultaneously rich and evocative. This combination, which is easy to aim for but hard to execute well, is the essence of the dark folk genre which Rota Fortunae can broadly be associated with.
Hinterland is the first LP released under the moniker, following two EPs, 2016’s
Vespers and 2018’s
Solstice . Both were solid short releases, showing a developing artist carving out a space within the niche and crafting subtle but mysterious vibes. Ultimately, though, the brevity of their format held back
Vespers and
Solstice from being from anything greater.
Hinterland brings the project to more expansive heights, although it must be said that by LP standards this remains on the short side (under thirty minutes in length), with none of the eight present tracks hitting the five minute mark. This relatively brief duration suits the album well, as the record manages to enhance the atmospheric scope previously harnessed by the two EPs, while still avoiding overstaying its welcome (which can often be a concern for mellow instrumental releases of this ilk).
As is frequently the case with top-notch releases within this genre,
Hinterland is mood music par excellence. Spun under the wrong circumstances, this music may pass you by unscathed, but when the right time arrives it will feel like an epiphany. The song titles and sounds of
Vespers and
Solstice suggested themes of night and winter, respectively, while the namesake of
Hinterland implies a concern with nature and a withdrawal from civilization. The songs presented here as universally soothing and mellow, but there’s an insidious tinge to the sound that (at times) approaches menace, fitting nicely with the present natural themes. As such, this album is well recommended as a soundtrack to a forest walk or even just sitting on a porch on a rainy day.
It’s not easy to pick out one song from another on
Hinterland . Partly, this is due to the instrumental nature of the release, partly due to the all-consuming atmosphere which runs like a thread throughout the album from start to finish. That said, the guitar on the title track may get the listener’s fingers tapping, and the haunting closer “Pale Mountain” ends the album fittingly, providing a feeling of solitude and poignant loss which echoes long after the last note sounds. For the style, that is the definition of a rollicking success. Beyond that, one can only expect this whole album will sound even better in the autumn and winter, when this brand of music truly comes into its own.
