Dance Party in the Balkans is a lonely sounding record, and easily evokes the chilling mountainscapes of its namesake. With both deeply organic and artificial percussion, the album features vocals, strings, and horns that all attempt joyful goals, but can’t avoid melancholy.
The layering of instruments on Dance Party in the Balkans is extensive, but ultimately sounds sparse and desolate. The album’s charm is in its dry sense of pleasure, seemingly generations in the making. The opening track, "The Homeless and the Hummingbirds", has a soft chant and piano interplay mixed with an almost uplifting vibe. The key word would be almost. Mournful strings and reserved rhythms dominate the album. "Twenty Four Hours in Lake of Ice" makes material from the Morr record label seem like Top 40 radio. Chilling piano, heartfelt moans, and rainy drums keep the lid on any actual dance party, as the sarcasm of the album’s title might suggest.
Dance Party in the Balkans is relaxing, thought-provoking, and emotionally stirring with its downspiked take on both classical and modern sounds. Instruments on the album are refreshing in their selection and use, and the vocals are less cerebral and more soulful than many of Alaska in Winter’s contemporaries. It’s well worth the investigation.
