Moddi is a Norwegian singer-songwriter who had an excellent idea for a concept album. On learning that the Norwegian authorities had put pressure on an artist not to perform Eli Geva, a song about the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, because it might upset the Israeli authorities, he decided to write his own version. Then he searched out other censored songs from around the world, and the result is an intriguing history lesson, with lyrics in English. The most startling song here is his version of Pussy Riot’s Punk Prayer, now a slow, passionate protest hymn with the plea “drive away the ungodly souls”. Elsewhere, there are songs from China, Chile and Algeria, along with Kate Bush’s Army Dreamers, at one time banned by the BBC. It’s unfortunate that A Matter of Habit, a powerful antiwar song by the Israeli singer Izhar Ashdot, is marred by swirling orchestral backing.
