Viking L’Eco Della Battaglia

2003
CD
Ash Tree Records

Viking (Francesca Ortolani) performs songs dating from Italy's ventennio fascista, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar and recorder. Francesca, a very young looking 21-year-old with a taste for Rauchbier, poses with the recorder on the back of the CD in the manner of a komuso ready to dispatch an opponent with a blow from his shakuhachi! This combination of innocence and attitude is Viking's leitmotiv, and although the songs include bombastic politico-military anthems such as 'Cantate dei Legionari' and 'Canto degli Arditi', they are sung in a disconcertingly sweet-voiced folk/neofolk style. 'Inno dei giovani Fascisti' in particular is delivered in a singalong, rather twee, folky style which reminds me of those 50s BBC radio programmes like 'Listen With Mother', and I'm just waiting for the "Now, do come along children". Others lean more to Italian balladry - 'Duce a noi' and the dolorous 'Con la morte a paro a paro' - which are really quite sophisticated and establish that Mussolini certainly had some good tunes. Francesca has an unaffected voice which compares favourably with most singers of the British folk revival. The CD includes nicely presented PC content about Viking and its themes, as well as original recordings of the songs covered. Be warned that the intent seems more political than musical. It's a strange undertaking in many ways but it has a compelling charm

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