A tasty third album from the baebes who brought us Salva Nos in 1997 and Worldes Blysse the following year. Undrentide mixes old poetry with new sounds, relinquishing all aspirations of appealing to historical purists. Indisputable outsiders on the Period Music scene, the Mediaeval Babes keep proving that artists and audiences connect differently these days. The "Baebes" tour their revivalist compositions to S/M clubs and graveyards as well as to Cathedrals, and in its trendy packaging, what is really just another girl choir (though well hyped and well produced), their concept looks set to hit the spot with new audiences. Originators Kathryn Blake and Dorothy Carter lead the way, and with unassailable 90s-chick self-assuredness protest the right to do their take on the Anonymi. With John Cale on board as producer, "moderntide" saxes and synth pads effortlessly philander dulcimers and recorders. The result is a kind of soft paced neo paganism, unobtrusive and atmospheric, tastefully arranged.The singing is pleasant and well instructed, with impressive purity, but not with quite enough guts to carry off the power of seduction inherent in the carefully chosen texts. However, these young maidens maintain a charming informality throughout, as if the recording was made sitting round the Maypole. You do want some of this. --Yngvil V G
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