TANSSIVA KARHU

The melodic song itself is quite nice, not radically different from the debut album's material. The voice of Jenna-Marie Laine is as pretty as ever and the lyrics are all right. Also the flute is still heard. The style of production is different. The steady basic rhythm is very underlined sonically, and this is negative to me and presumably to the majority of prog and folk oriented listeners. On Facebook the band refers to the soft rock of Fleetwood Mac and 10cc. Yeah, I get that, the composition wouldn't have been totally out of place on the mid-70's or newer Fleetwood Mac albums, and the vocal harmonies in the background makes me think of 10cc's 'I'm Not in Love'. Overall the production is bigger and uses more synthesizers than before. Considering the group's folk leanings this far, the dreadful word "over-produced" undeniably enters the minds of the listeners.

In theory it's respectable when a band doesn't want to keep doing things the same way as before, as long as they do what they themselves really want, instead of commercial attempts. I don't know what they think of the beat -- and drums in general -- mixed rather loudly to the front, but it's disappointing for me. But otherwise, not a bad pop song at all. Nothing to do with prog, of course. My initial "shock" shouldn't affect too mercilessly for my rating. The minus may be a long one, but three stars still seems more adequate than two.

The opening song 'Uusimisia' has some psychedelic sonic effects while the second song leans more sincerely to the melodicism. Curiously the songs in general are happily light-hearted and yet simultaneously containing some melancholic side to them, too. For the song structures, the progressive tendencies are pretty minimal actually. It's perhaps more about the overall sound that makes this band a pleasant discovery for the folk-minded prog listeners. The A side of the vinyl ends with 'Kevään liekki' that features very charming Baroque pop ingredients.

The B side grows to be the stronger one. 'Niinitie 52' has a very beautiful, melodically soaring chorus, and a solos for electric piano and flute. The flute indeed is well present throughout the album. Especially the electric piano on some songs adds a jazzy feel. On 'Taivaanrannalla' the keys sound lovely. The final song 'Kaivosmies' has an instrumental tail and features Jimi Tenor's sax guest appearance.

I like this album for its innocence, brightness and peaceful charm, although any prog listener naturally would welcome more notable prog ingredients in songwriting.