Victor Herrero is a Spanish singer, classical guitarist and pianist whose interests have ranged from Gregorian chant to rock and folk. His wife, Josephine Foster, is a singer-songwriter from Colorado whose equally varied career has involved jazz, rock and alt-folk. They have recorded together several times, including an album inspired by Spanish folk song and the poet and playwright Federico García Lorca. Now, they have formed an engaging band that includes Taku, a Japanese woodwind player, and Victor’s brother José Luis on bass. Their self-composed debut album, recorded in the south of Spain, mixes folk and flamenco with unexpected operatic passages from Foster, who adds guitar, harp and bamboo flute. The lyrics are equally intriguing: there are songs about donkeys, a ragtime-influenced piece about the saints, and a slinky description of the local practice of covering olive trees in donkey dung to stop them being eaten by goats. A quirky, charming set.
