Eivor

The thing to understand about Eivor Palsdottir is that she changes -- radically -- from album to album. Eivor offers her acoustic singer/songwriter incarnation, and it's done as beautifully as everything else she attempts, although the closer, "Trollabundin," with wailing voice and frame drum, takes her firmly into shamanistic territory. Her foil for this journey is Canadian guitarist and singer Bill Bourne, who proves to be an ideal companion, sensitive and subtle in his accompaniment and duets, whether she's singing in Icelandic, Faroese, or English. Indeed, he also contributes two excellent songs, "Only a Friend of Mine," which is very folky in the North American sense, but lovingly understated, and "Where Are the Angels," where Palsdottir's vocal performance is faintly reminiscent of Mary Margaret O'Hara. The melody of "Maer Leingist" has curious echoes of "Stand by Your Man" throughout, and there are a couple of moves toward torchiness here. But little can compare with "Min Mooir," a tour de force for both participants, moodily atmospheric yet gorgeously melodic. It's certainly an organic disc, painting a different picture of the singer, more as an earth mother, but highlighting the fact that each of her facets glitters. ~ Chris Nickson