Matti P
The second album of the Finnish instrumental rock/fusion group whose name means Tatu & the Explorers. Bassist and co-composer Tatu Back has also drawn the cover art for both albums.
Again the band colours their jazzy rock with hints of various musical genres. The debut had a little more blues flavour. Here 'Löylyn henki' is spiced up with flamenco, and accordion finishes the nature-inspired national-romantic spirit on the relatively emotional, melodic piece 'Vipulampi'. All in all, electric guitar is the "lead" instrument, as Hammond and other keys are mainly filling the overall soundscape.
The shortish opening piece starts with a beautiful, mysterious slowness, two guest musicians playing snare drums gently, and just as the piece sort of comes alive, it ends all too soon. But it's seamlessly followed by the determinant, rockier piece 'Homo Ludens' where the guitar associates with David Gilmour in and out of Pink Floyd. The final minute is a synth-centred spacey outro.
The longest, 11-minute composition is my favourite. The title refers to a plant blooming in midsummer night, but it's deliberately underlining the "magic" connected to the Finnish midsummer night, as fern plants do not bloom in real life. The composition progresses without any hurry and is occasionally milking a bit too long its motifs,but with some shifts in tempo and atmosphere it manages to create a narrative feel. In the end the band members shout together "Lähdetään juhannussaunaan!" (= let's go to midsummer sauna), and the next, flamenco flavoured piece continues the sauna theme in its title.
The final track pulsates almost like an Alan Parsons Project instrumental and has great interplay with Gilmouresque guitar and synths. Also the drums are deliciously strong.
Perhaps the lesser amount of blues flavour makes me prefer this album over the debut. The production is very good, one only wishes the arrangements to contain wider variety.
