The name might include the word folk, but don't be fooled by that. If you come into this expecting hardcore Armenian acoustic folk music, heavy on the reedy duduk, you're in for a shock. This band, part of the Armenian diaspora based in New York, takes a very broad definition of folk music to include beats, synthesizer, dance, and pop music. And the record is all the better for it. There's still music that passes any definition of folk, like "Bad Days," where gospel touches revive an old song, but you'd better also be prepared for jazz, some sublime vocals -- ranging from the acerbic to the smooth -- and, of course, the duduk (the Armenian national instrument) working through it all. Bandleader Arman Aghajanyan does a great job of marshaling his forces, and walking the fine line between the future and the sensibility of the past. By and large he manages it, although little side trips into jazz don't work too well, and on a couple of occasions the pop sheen is a bit too glossy. But it's something that can easily break out of the ghetto of folk music (and Armenian folk music, at that!) to find a broader acceptance. Not perfect, perhaps, but another example of people reinventing the folk tradition and keeping it a wonderful living, breathing thing. ~ Chris Nickson