The Forester

The disquieting aural landscapes on Susanna & Ensemble NeoN’s The Forester are captured in austere yet evocative tones that suggest deep woodlands and brooding skies. Norwegian singer Susanna Wallumrod brings a jazz vocalist’s rigor and sophistication to this project, aided by the empathetic playing of her collaborators. The ensemble’s music flows with insinuating grace, defined by rippling woodwinds, swooning stings, and brooding percussion. Lyrically, these songs slowly unfold like a shadowy fairy tale, blurring the boundaries between claustrophobic interior spaces and vast otherworldly terrain. Wallumrod takes on the persona of both a pilgrim and a prisoner, feeling her way through the dark contours of “The Forester I, II & II” before stepping into the arid wastelands of “Oh, I Am Stuck.” Though it’s too much to say that she finds a final escape, the closing track, “Lonely Heart,” at least suggests acceptance via self-knowledge. Along the way, the album reveals gorgeous musical embellishments against forbidding backgrounds, such as Karin Hellqvist’s heartbreaking violin on “Intruder.”