Double bass and piano weren’t used in the recording of this album. Which is significant, as the list of instruments used makes up four entire lines of the press sheet (and a considerable part of the liner notes) and includes just about everything from theremin to Turkish saz, from violin to shruti box and from xylophone to drum machine. While such eclecticism isn’t always a good thing, Vanessa Rossetto and Salvatore Borrelli (aka etre) somehow make it work: The eleven tracks on “Cavallo Meraviglioso” are given enough room to breathe, even the meandering eleven-minute track “Ogni intuizione Ë il tangibile segno del declino” never gets lost on its way to bucolic bliss.

Rossetto and Borrelli hail as an Italian/American duo, but I feel that they would sit nicely in the Finnish scene as well, what with Rossetto’s vocals reminding me of Islaja or Kuupuu. Wondrous Horse’s dreamy free folk really is that good. I’m particularly fond of the gentle strumming on tracks like – wait – “Il tempo ha posato sei voci she gridano” but this playful, yet focussed album is enjoyable from start to finish. Ah, and Valerio Cosi appears on one of the tracks as well: “Questi Orizzonti Scomparsi” – even their track titles sound like music! 7/10 -- Jan-Arne Sohns (10 December, 2008)