Tunng

Tunng are a male duo from Birmingham, UK who have set out to combine folk and electronica into one earthy, accessible pop mash-up. The results they’ve cooked up on this debut album (released last year in the UK to warm, inviting reviews) could be the most fully realised interpretation of "folktronica” yet to be recorded, even if the meeting doesn’t seem so impressive once you realise Tunng are basically a pop group who like to pluck folk instruments and use computers, too. Regardless, the best songs on Mother’s Daughter ("People Folk,” "Mother’s Daughter” and "Tale from Black”) often recall the catchy fringe-pop brilliance of the Beta Band’s early work or Animal Collective’s more earthbound excursions. When all is said and done, Tunng have a chance at gaining mass acceptance for writing simple, pretty, accessible contributions to a musical retrograde of a movement that’s already in full swing. But since they’re not really doing anything new or especially invigorating, it’s more likely they’ll slip by the wayside, which is something of a shame considering alternative radio could benefit from even a couple pretty tunes by Tunng in rotation. But hey, Sigur Ros broke through, so anything’s possible, right?