Varttina “Seleniko”<i> Green Linnet</i>

This Finnish contemporary-folk group treads a happy middle ground between the Chieftains’ exuberant traditional Celtic music and the hauntingly beautiful vocalizations of those Bulgarian women’s choirs. The band’s visceral energy also betrays its native country’s proximity to Russia, but with fiddle, guitar and accordion prominent on many tunes, the sound will be easily accessible to aficionados of the American folk tradition. At the heart of the sound is the group’s four female singers. Half the time they sing in unison, the other half in three- and four-part harmonies. They employ not only the third and fifth intervals common to Western pop music, but also frequently seconds and other dissonances that typify Eastern European folk. They give the songs a wider variety of textures than either normally touches upon. Most of the songs are traditionals. “Seelinnikoi” and “Paukkuvat Pasuunat” warn naive young women not to be overly eager to get to the altar. “Kyla Vuotti Uutta Kuuta” is an exquisite traditional wedding song, while “Hoptsoi” is an instrumental much like an Irish reel except for its unusual (to Western ears) time signature. Varttina plays the Alligator Lounge in Santa Monica on Saturday, Nov. 27. If this record is an indication of its live performances, it should be one of the most intriguing shows of the year.