Most everyone has preconceptions about the accordion. It’s one of these instruments that inspires either deep love or bitter hatred. But what does this motherfucker actually sound like? Think of the sound of an accordion playing a song in your mind. Go ahead, I’ll wait […]. Most likely, you’re thinking of that shit playing a waltz. Some people think of goofy fucking songs like Weird Al doing ironic covers of popular songs in those jumping jouncing catchy little diddies. It’s one of these instruments that seems to say, “Hey, look at me. Aren’t I weird?” It’s seen as quirky and corny. Nobody’s taking the accordion out to the club. Nobody takes it seriously. Horny fucks don’t play the accordion on the grass at college campuses to impress those that walk on the sidewalk. The accordion is more of a sexual deterrent than your mother talking about your dog’s pink erection sitting in the potato salad over dinner. Nobody fucks the accordion player. I thought I knew what the accordion sounded like. I didn’t and I don’t. This album scared me. It didn’t make me laugh. I didn’t giggle. It fucking terrified me.

Meet the Runaway Trio composed of Matjaž Balažic, Zan Trobas, and Borut Mori. Guess what they each play? Ya, the fucking accordion. They play contemporary classical music on the accordion. For most, the idea of this sounds like a highway straight to sonic hell. Some might even say it is the soundtrack of hell itself. But I like to hear out what a motherfucker has to say before I go judging them.

Sure, this shit is weird. Holy fuck it’s weird. They play six different songs from six different 20th-century composers (Toshio Hosokawa, Uros Rojko, Georg Friedrich Haas, Magnar Am, Jukka Tiensuu, and Klaus Lang) and it’s on a trio of fucking accordions. But I stuck with it. I listened to these songs like I would with any classical piece. Along the way I went through moments of fear, surprise, sadness, hope, depression, delight, and all I could think as the album ended was “holy fucking shit”. This shit moved me. I didn’t know the accordion could evoke so many emotions and make such bizarre and delightful sounds. 

Look, I’m not stupid. I know I’m not making any fucking friends with this recommendation. I know this is some super bizarro fucking shit. The contemporary classical accordion trio is a hard sell. I’m fine with that. I’m totally fine if you don’t have the same reaction as I did to this. But, fuck me, it truly fucking moved me. And if there is any possibility that someone else out there could find this strange and bizarre musical island and enjoy it as much as I did, then this shit is all worth it.