With Varde, Norwegian composer Tommy Jansen, a.k.a. Elegi, has launched the sequel to Sistereis, attempting once again to investigate the tribulations of the first polar explorers. Throughout the record, capacious echo, gurgling bass frequencies, and morose string motifs evoke wintry landscapes, calling forth the dual sense of loneliness and achievement that must have burdened the explorers who crossed those landscapes. Solitary piano notes resonate for seven, eight seconds, before succumbing to the rippling of somber cello harmonies and windy atmospheres that alternately whistle and moan. Ominous crunches bring to mind the strain of wood, metal, and bone in extreme temperatures. Occasionally, a shuttered voice will be heard in the distance, akin to the muffled speech transmitted by a shortwave radio; and every so often, there are heartbreaking dashes of warm, civilized sound in the midst of the polar suites: “Fandens Bre” concludes with a shadowed sample of a military march, while “Angekok” opens with the layered gurgling of infants