Ménage à quatre / Menage a quatre

Don't let the addition of an African mbira on "Les Bois Noirs" throw you. These Canadian north country folkies may add a lot of unexpected touches to their Franco-European music mix, but nothing that doesn't feel organically grown. In fact, this is far from the usual worldbeat gee-whiz gimmickry as you can get, with all numbers recorded direct to tape and tube equalization equipment used for the most realistic sound. That said, Danile Thonon still adds electric juice to his hurdy-gurdy when the situation requires, and other odd combinations are the order of the day. "Bransle Bas le Con Bas," for example, manages to combine clarinets, guitar, piano, and hurdy-gurdy, while the Greek dance "Kalamatiano" makes no big deal of custom blending bluegrass mandolin, Arab darbouka, and European instruments. Far from turning eclecticism into gimmickry, these low-profile geniuses produce the sweetest, smoothest traditional anomalies imaginable.