Cascade Folk Trio: Old Street

By James Reed, Globe Correspondent, 1/23/2004

The mention of Armenian folk music is not going to send CDs flying off shelves anytime soon. This is a given, but it's because most mainstream audiences equate world music -- unless it's from their own culture -- with a staid genre that somehow eschewed rock 'n' roll and jazz. The Cascade Folk Trio suggests otherwise on its debut album of folk music gone electric, amplified, and downright rollicking at times. Forget fluency in Armenian; the helpful liner notes guide you along with translations, and the album's different vocalists convey the songs' emotion through delivery. There are traditional songs and themes here, but they've been rejuvenated with contemporary instrumentation. "Lingering Room," with its drums and R&B harmonies, sounds like something you'd hear in heavy rotation in chill-out bars. "You Are a Doe" is a paean to unrequited love: "In a green field, picking flowers/ I look for you, my lovely doe . . ." The title track opens with strands of accordion that recall songs from the "Amelie" soundtrack, but unfortunately segues into a listless ballad. Regardless, this all goes to show that there's more to world music than just bagpipes and sitars.