Wardruna - Birna (Album Initial Thoughts)
This is art. I've never heard anything this authentic and... nostalgic is the wrong word, but... this authentic and this Nordic. I'm Nordic. And this music is so Nordic I feel a connection to my ancestors or something. Even though I don't actually share roots with these people. Vikings and Finns were two nations. They traded, but didn't really mix (have children) as far as I know. Vikings were more into foreign lands overseas than... forests and lakes. Quiet farming life, no riches. But because they were in contact, and lived close by to each other, I hear similarities between this and traditional Finnish music, and therefore feel a connection. And today, Nordic people do have similarities in cultures and cultural identities, we identify as our respective nations but also Nordic. This album's perfect. 100/100. S tier. Sorry I didn't write much about it, I was too focused on feeling it than thinking about it.