Troye Zillia. Paradise Birds. /digi-pack/.

Not so long ago the bandura could only occasionally be heard in the young Ukrainian music – but the situation is changing. And while in authors' materials the bandura can be spotted more frequently (Tin Sontsya, Heorhiy Matviiv, KRUT, ONUKA, etc.), in the realm of including the bandura into the slightly jazz-like arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs, Troye Zillia may become, if not the first, at least one of the brightest bands. The album "Paradise birds" is a perfect demonstration of that. This is a collection of Christmas carols and Christmas songs – and one tends to expect that this kind of albums are unwrapped in an unhurried way, have a kind of enlightened, relaxed moods, or even the "pink syrup". Here – the musicians did it differently. From the first seconds, the percussion unequivocally hints: that will be music with a joyful drive, and so it proves later, despite a couple of quite lyrical digressions. Even "Holy Night" – the conventional model of elegiacity – when performed by Troye Zillia makes one think of someone like Irish Romani, or something.. The same goes about the other songs – they will not be difficult to recognize, but freshness of the approach will definitely feel nice.