Pl\u00efnk\u00ef Pl\u00f8nk\u00ef<\/strong>, who playfully suggest that they might be rechristened Spook\u00ef Pook\u00ef for this release, and a set that attempts to coral the windswept themes of October 31 with a mixture of history and humor.<\/p>\nHappy Halloween\u00a0<\/em>is impressively literate, having done its homework in terms of myth and legend. \u00a0\u201cEach-Ulsge\u201d leads off the album, paying homage to the vicious water creature that often appeared as a handsome man but was really a Scottish water horse that carried riders to their deaths, eating everything but the liver. \u00a0But any horror is offset by the excited children who babble throughout, a reminder that children are often drawn to frightful tales without themselves being frightened. \u00a0And of course the \u201cGnomes of the Lock\u201d were never going to be that scary, especially due to their seeming love for gardens. \u00a0The Phookah (also known as the P\u00faca or Pooka) is a shapeshifter that plays tricks on human beings (especially if they live in Ireland); the track of the same name is also a shapeshifter, built on a foundation of slowed-down bat cries, turning into a surprising bout of post-rock before returning to its humble origins. \u00a0\u201cStop! That Ghost just wants to Dance\u201d highlights guitar and bells, although the note of the bell is the same as an incoming text, so maybe that ghost just wants to text; it\u2019s a young ghost, and died before it learned how to haunt in the proper, time-honored way. \u00a0When synths surface in \u201c\u5e7d\u970a,\u201d one thinks, this is how it is done, the old Yurei teaching the young. \u00a0One also wonders, do ghosts watch 80s horror flicks, or just live in our old, bulky TVs and VCRs, waiting to be summoned?<\/p>\nIf \u201cToogras,\u201d the album\u2019s least scary track, seems particularly benign, it\u2019s because it refers to \u201can ancient Nordic spell written on one\u2019s hand before sunrise to invite true love and goodness.\u201d \u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s go now,\u201d says a child as the pianist plays a lullaby. \u00a0But what does the child know of romantic love, or of the horror of heartbreak? \u00a0<\/em>(Sorry, just trying to make it more scary.) \u00a0Finally, in the middle of \u201cSirens,\u201d the album turns a corner, the waves joined by the increasing volume of an enticing call. One high-pitched flute note signals the sailor\u2019s demise; after that, only waves. \u00a0\u201cThe Bregdi,\u201d even scarier than sirens, attack ships that are pulling into port, shaking the passengers in their maws; this lurking, dark ambient piece is the most suited for a haunted house. \u00a0The \u201cRusalka\u201d is a mean Russian mermaid, but it wasn\u2019t always so; earlier versions were benign, watering crops in spring, or sad, having committed suicide to escape from abusive husbands. Pl\u00efnk\u00ef Pl\u00f8nk\u00ef leaves room for all interpretations.<\/p>\nThe rain is falling in \u201cWill-o-the-Wisp\u201d as the pianist plays again; it\u2019s beginning to feel a lot like Halloween. \u00a0We haven\u2019t heard from the children for a while; are they okay? \u00a0Apparently so, as the album closes with \u201cYou are home! You are safe!\u201d, our only concern being the exclamation points. \u00a0Are they really <\/em>safe? \u00a0The words reflect the heart of Halloween: one wants to be scared, but not terrified, comforted, but not sheltered. \u00a0Happy Halloween to all our readers! \u00a0(Richard Allen)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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<\/a>Must Halloween music always be scary? \u00a0We kept this principle in mind for our series Music for Haunted Houses<\/em>, which ran from 2014-20; in the year without trick-or-treaters, we concluded that \u201cthe whole world (had) become a haunted house,\u201d and lamented that the old-time monsters had lost some of their power. \u00a0But Halloween had been changing even before the pandemic, shifting from a night of superstition with semi-religious origins to a rite of passage for children to the second most popular adult holiday of the year. \u00a0Enter Pl\u00efnk\u00ef Pl\u00f8nk\u00ef<\/strong>, who playfully suggest that they might be rechristened Spook\u00ef Pook\u00ef for this release, and a set that attempts to coral the windswept themes of October 31 with a mixture of history and humor.<\/p>\n