Music played an important role in the Vietnam war. In Saigon there were homegrown rock bands formed to entertain the US troops, while in the north, where American music was then banned, Radio Vietnam provided a soundtrack of resistance. This gently poignant but frustrating set provides a reminder of the era with songs from Hanoi’s war veterans. Produced by the well-travelled Ian Brennan, who last month released an album from a Malawi prison, it’s an album of gentle, mostly sad-edged acoustic pieces, with backing provided by clanking, minimalist percussion, fine zither work from celebrated music director Vân Ánh Võ, and demonstrations of the wailing k’ni, an instrument played clasped between the teeth. All that’s lacking is sufficient information about the individual singers and their histories, during and after the war. Vân Ánh Võ has won awards for her film soundtracks, and their stories would surely make a great documentary.
