TURHAT TARINAT

Ten years since the debut Syvään Uneen, it's finally time for the second album of the Finnish prog band ART DECO featuring a female vocalist singing in Finnish. The title means Useless Stories but the music is certainly not useless. Although, to be honest, my initial feeling of this album was that disappointingly it didn't seem to be an improvement from the instantly likeable debut. Productionwise, the sound still has a slight echoey thinness. The six-piece group (no changes in the line-up, despite the long interim) sure plays well, but the mixing could be better. Due to this slightly imperfect production of the versatile soundscape it is occasionally hard to catch the lyrics too, despite Jaana Mäkinen's clear, beautiful voice. On headphones this problem does not exist, and the non-Finnish listeners hardly understand the language anyway.

I'm glad to say the more I listen to this album the more I learn to like it. Indeed it takes a while to get a good hold on the individual songs. There are seven of them and each one is at least pretty good as a composition. The band's expression has subtly developed during the ten years. The debut made me think of the mid-seventies melodic Finnish prog such as Tabula Rasa or Fantasia, with a flair of a vocal-oriented (ie. "chanson", in lack of a better word for 'laulelma') music such as Liisa Tavi. Of course these references still make sense, but now the band progs a bit harder, and the international listener probably will get some associations to the more recent British Neo Prog with female vocalists (Janison Edge, Panic Room, Magenta,...). In other words, the seventies feel or the chanson impression are not so notable. This music is timeless, melodic modern-day prog rock.

'Alfa Centauri' is a very strong opener. On the vocal-free passages the dual guitars and the synths are having a great ride together. 'Vihamielinen viima' (= Hostile wind) is also energetic. If you know the Finnish band VIIMA, there's a bit similar slight [80's] RUSH flavour in the sound. 'Kauneus on hetken varas' has a poetic title meaning "Beauty is a moment's thief". By the way, it's a pity the CD doesn't contain printed lyrics like the debut did. This song is skillfully operating between delicacy and power. In the spatial beginning of the title track Jaana's voice sounds lovely. The closing song 'Elegia' is not only the longest at 9 minutes, it is my natural choice for the album highlight. The hurriless elaboration of melodies and the dynamic balance between sung and instrumental sections makes this a highly enjoyable prog piece. The whole album is definitely a grower.