Why is accordion music so sad, even when it's happy? There's something about that reedy wheeze, even in a waltz or polka, that conveys world-weariness. Here, this mournful instrument plays against with the weird hum of bowed saw, the plink of glockenspiel and the subliminal heft of stand-up bass in a mostly instrumental web of Eastern European melancholy. Even the festive "Brief Stroll -- The Velvet Parasol", the soundtrack for an old-fashioned merry-go-round if there ever was one, cannot seem to repress a sigh, and "When the Telegram Arrived That She Was Dying" will slowly, madly crush your heart.

Madagascar is as foreign as its exotic name suggests, though rooted more in Balkan villages than East African islands. Its core gypsy sound comes from Baltimorean Michael Lambright's accordion, glockenspiel and ukulele, all odd and unfamiliar instruments, augmented by the sheer unearthliness of musical saw. Lambright is joined here by brother Anthony Lambright and Justin Lucas (once of noise-ist band The Roman Empire), as well as more informal collaborators from Anomoanon (Walker Teret) and The Big Huge (Drew Nelson). Tracks on Forced March vary in density in mood, with stand-outs including mutated polka dirge "All That Spring You Could See Halley's Comet" and the exquisitely melancholy "I'm So Tired Of Violets (Take Them All Away)". "Bear Goes Shopping" is perhaps the most hectic and chaotic, conjuring some sort of cathartic dance performed in firelight. "I Know That I'll Be True" is more contained, like an unusually idiosyncratic French cafe tune. Though mostly instrumental, several of the tracks incorporate ghostly, wordless vocals that add another layer of mystery and atmosphere.

Forced March feels slightly less aggressively experimental than Alec Redfearn's Quiet Room; its milder eccentricities -- the saw, the glockenspiel -- melt easily into the tunes. It is, however, a very interesting exploration of mood and tone and off-the-beaten-path musical forms that more than rewards your listening time.