Ringing with warmth and emotion, guitarist Marisa Anderson's latest album, The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music, released on Thrill Jockey, excavates the outer reaches of famed collector Harry Smith's archives. Smith, known for his 1952 Anthology of American Folk Music, which compiled folk, blues, and country recordings from the 1920s and 1930s, left behind hours of non-American music. In 2023, Anderson gained access to Smith's shuttered archives, discovering a treasure trove of tunes from Southeast Asia, Soviet Russia, and the Islamic and Arabic worlds. She learned to perform and share these compositions, resulting in a gorgeous collection that blends tradition with improvisation.
Interpreting Global Tunes
On this album, Anderson interprets nine tunes from regions shaped by major US conflicts since her birth in 1970. Her liner notes explore what is lost and found when translating these compositions, yet their universal musicality shines through. The opener, Quodlibet, is a beautiful minor-key medley of Uzbek tunes originally played on the dambura, a fretless lute. Anderson incorporates bluegrass techniques to compensate for her inability to play quarter-tones on guitar. Another highlight is Hamd, a qawwali vocal tune, where her stacked guitar layers ring with warmth and emotion.
Collaborations and Textures
Violinist Gisela Rodríguez Fernández joins Anderson on Sarvi Simin, a shimmering tune from Soviet-era Afghanistan. On Zar, a Yemeni tune meant to exorcise evil spirits, the duo constantly rearranges five notes without repetition. Dark ambient moods emerge in Pair of Duduk, where Anderson shifts the drones of Armenian woodwinds to reverb-heavy guitar and bassy synths. The Vietnamese Whistle Song, originally for bamboo flutes, is transferred to electric piano, revealing the composition's closeness to minimalism. Anderson wonders whether contemporary classical composers were influenced by this record, as the album constantly questions how porous far-flung musical cultures truly are.
Other Notable Releases
Also out this month is Flame Folclòre by Occitan French female duo Cocanha (Bongo Joe). This brilliant, restless album opens with the punky Remenanuèch, about women taming a shape-shifting dragon. The duo blends early-80s no-wave energy with polyphonic harmonies, spoken-word rhythms, and tales of resistance on stringed drums. Similarly strong is Eòlas-Charm (Chamber Music Scotland), the debut album by Sgo, sisters Steaph and Ciorstaidh Chaimbeul. They perform 10 tracks on harp, accordion, and vocals, representing native trees from Gaelic oral histories, with mesmerising musicianship. Also wondrous is Wakefire: A Summer Album (LM Records) by Lady Maisery and Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith, a 27-track collection of ballads, radio samples, and field recordings tracing April to September. Highlights include the political, banjo-driven May Day and the Latvian summer solstice song Ligō.
