TUSMØRKE – En pakt med Naturen

RELEASE YEAR: 2025
BAND URL: https://tusm-rke.bandcamp.com/album/en-pakt-med-naturen

Norwegian proggers Tusmørke are not only one of the most prolific and creative outfits in this green and pleasant land of ours but also one of the very best and most rewarding listens there is. Their discography is both vast and unique, and their take on psychedelic folk prog is as original and wonderfully quirky as can be. Now, you never quite know what to expect whenever these chaps release a new album, which is a charming and intriguing thing in and of itself, and I was unsure as to how a live album captured for posterity at the fabulous Big Dipper record store in Oslo would come across, but as it turns out, it is fucking brilliant. It just feels right, if you know what I mean?

En Pakt med Naturen sounds so warm and vibrant that it easily could have been recorded in front of a roaring fireplace inside a remote cabin somewhere in the mountains. The compositions are teeming with life and perfectly marry the bucolic and pastoral-sounding with something that can only be termed unnerving and somewhat eerie, which probably accounts for why the tag “folk horror” occasionally appears alongside the Tusmørke moniker. You can easily hear the group having an enjoyable time immersing themselves wholeheartedly in these eight tracks, and these particular renditions are true to the core material yet bring something new to the table. Other nuances and elements of the songs come to the fore and appear more prominent compared to the studio counterparts, and I personally would have loved to have been present when the show was recorded in such an intimate setting as it must have been a memorable experience. Although I tend to favor the tunes sung in their native language as they possess a better (and more natural) flow to these ears compared to those in English, the setlist does conjure up and highlight the humorous yet strangely dark magic of the band’s maverick style of prog rock, and En Pakt med Naturen is simply a superb piece of work and a live album unlike any other.