ABSOLUUTTINEN NOLLAPISTE

This long-living Finnish band is for me among the most difficult ones to write about to an international prog community. Why? 1) They haven't gained much attention abroad, as far as I know, and understandably so for having Finnish lyrics in a central role. 2) They have a stable cult status here and they have been described as Finland's most even-quality band; each new album gets favourable reviews by critics who can mostly just circulate the same old phrases as the style stays pretty much the same album after album. And 3), I'm a relatively new listener of Abso. But this time there's at least something new to say.

This album and Pisara ja Lammas 2 (2014) form some sort of a rock opera with an obscure SciFi content quite hard to get into. The title means A Drop and a Sheep, and the characters are the Sheep (performed by Erkki Seppänen), the Woman (Paula Vesala of popular mainstream rock group PMMP), the Shepherd (Olavi Uusivirta, a popular solo pop artist), and a choir in the tradition of Greek tragedy. The Abso's main writer and vocalist Tommi Liimatta is the narrator, whose portion is at least 75 % of the whole. Everybody knows his limited, stiff vocal expression, a complete opposite to Roger Daltrey's fantastic multi-role contribution in THE WHO's legendary Tommy. This narrator-centred structure sadly decreases the operatic nature of the work; the guest vocals naturally bring some extra - especially the choir - but in the end not very radically.

But that, and the difficulty to understand the story, are not preventing this music to be Abso at their most inspired and exciting. The synths and guitars are used effectively in the very carefully constructed soundscape. Also from this point of view Pisara ja Lammas 1-2 is Abso at their most progressive. There are even some (mock-) orchestral nuances, and everything works very well. The music is both rather accessible and unpredictably interesting. The second album - which I may review sometime later - is stronger musically, but also this one is pretty rewarding - for all the old listeners and a bunch of new ones too, hopefully.

The 7-minute 'Valvoja-aika' is graced with a mighty guitar solo that leads to the general distortion of sound in a dramatic way. The next synth-based song resembles earlier pop-oriented material and may feel a bit boring to a prog-minded listener. (All in all, it can be said that AN's potential for international following is rather limited, and this is obviously reflected in the very small amount of PA reviews.) 'Teikäläisen taivas' a nice, powerful pop song full of clever rhymes; the poppiest output of CMX comes to my mind. The next track gives the emphasis on beautiful guitar textures.

The slight sense of mystery and Science Fiction of the beginning is to some degree present on e.g. 'Musta viisari', but the compositions get rather simple and vocal-oriented, turning the whole into a relatively typical AN album on the long run. I'm not yet so deeply into their output to say whether this is really among their best, but at least it contains some delightful freshness among the more-of-the-same feeling. Production is good all the way, and no doubt the lyrics offer a lot to think about, as always. Surely not a let-down album to a follower of this band. 3½ stars (rounded down due to the faint international prog appeal).

This third album by the Finnish long-lived group is not among their best. Proggy elements are very few here, though A.N. have never been an unquestionable prog band. The album represents their laconic, personal style quite faithfully but remains rather forgettable compared to the better albums. Most songs are simple indie pop-rock with a strong emphasis on Tommi Liimatta's stiff vocals, even featuring regular chorus structures. Often the low-key manner in singing brings some sense of monotony; happily the playing is more up-beat and relaxed. As a lyricist Liimatta is always original. For example on 'Ajoratamaalaus' the protagonist is the painted line on the highway. In all the lyrics there are peculiar observations of everyday life, from an unusual point of view, and it's really hard to figure out what these persons are up to.

I may have to rate this album low in this prog environment, but it must be said that at the same time this is very easy one to have a listening pleasure in smaller scale. I mean it's harmless and fairly sympathetic pop-rock with a good dose of identifiable personality. Guitar is the leading instrument and it often plays good melodies. The pop sensibility here is easy to like, mostly free of commercial taste, and there's also much more variation and complexity in rhythm patterns than in mainstream pop/rock. For a newcomer who comes from the pop side of music rather than the prog side, this is a good aperitif after which it's good to continue into other, better and perhaps a bit more demanding albums.

It's not an easy task to describe the music. It has some stint of avant garde, for example odd rhythmic structures, but it also remains quite painless to get into. The central element is the vocals (which are relatively close to normal speaking), and very interesting odd lyrics of Tommi Liimatta. In fact, the lyrics seem to form some sort of hazy narrational unity here. Some track titles translated: What Will Happen? When Will The Influence of These Stop? What's Wrong With Us? Shall I Swallow The Evidence? The Lost Berry-Picker. Has There Been Noise from Our Flat? Mr. Liimatta has published also poetry, prose and comics. A real Renaissance man, comparable to his countryman Mika Rättö (Circle, Kuusumun Profeetta, etc).

I believe this album suits fine to start listening to this band, as it did for me. I'm afraid for non- speakers of Finnish this band has not that much to offer.

A lot has chahged within the years. I'm not sure I like the way this band is going. The music is definately as creative as before, but the melody has been at times repplaced with powerful chords and riffs. The singer has developed a lot too, and the lyrics sound as if there was a lot more experienc there than for example in Olos. I believe Absoluuttinen Nollapiste are more famous than ever and they do a lot of gigs, people aside from art-rock geeks have been discovering this band since a couple of years ago.

There are quite a few great songs on the album: Lumous, Menit Sitten Haihtumaan and Tytöt Varieteen to mention a few. The melodies are powerful but created with routine like a fully grown up band should.

There are some aspects I've never met listening to Nollapiste. For example Puhelin Mutta Ei Luontoa shows quite a few elements from the 80's and the fashionable comeback. Funny thing in the sense, that these guys never existed back then.

The record could be a lot better, and I feel, that they've started doing something new, not quite getting the hang of it yet. The following record sounds a lot more "together" as one would put it, but there are a lot of unfinished passages that irk me in a way. Of course at times they come back to their roots with songs like V niin kuin Verikosto (V for vendetta), but there's still the sound in the air, as if old men were trying to sound like teenagers.

The whole album sounds a lot better live, but isn't bad as a recording either. I trust that every fan of Absoluuttinen Nollapiste has this album and likes to listen to it at times, but it's not their best recording. If this should be your first Nollapiste-album, be sure to remember, that there are albums that they have played with less skill but a lot more energy. So I'll forgive the for groving up because the spirit of doing something progressive is still there and the songs are as cunning as ever.

At the live show the guys come back to life and there are no musical restrictions. However, to conclude, the year 2007 was for Nollapiste like the early 80's to a lot of great bands: too much new, and you can't adapt it all we at once. 3 out of 5. Have faith though, there's great things to come in the future.

Then after litening to it for a while I realised my mistake. Fans, that like them immediately are scarce, and this record required several listenings too. The band makes rock you have never heard before. Sometimes you feel like you're listening to a commercial, at times it's like a movie soundtrack, and then there are the lyrics.

There are people who don't like Liimatta's lyrics because they're not up to listening to them. He may not be the best singer, but as a lyrics-writer and an author he's one of the coutry's bests. Songs like Ja Jos, and Kotiinpaluu, Jotenkin are brilliant poetry and great classics of the band. However, you can't always nail it. It took me 3 years to start appreciating the lyrics on Käsitys Mummoloista.

The sound on the record is very original, though still much bound to the 90's wherther they like it or not. The next decade brought distortion to everything, and that was clear with Nollapiste too. This album has some melodic riffs, each song has its own, but mostly the music is pop-rock. It's light to the ear with a lot of clever and meaningful lyrics.

This album can be considered one of their best seeing as how a lot of the songs find their way to the live sets even after 10 years. These include the two mentioned and Neljä Ruukkua Neliössä, which is a lyrical riddle I still haven't, after all the years, solved. To start analyzing a poets work while doing a cd-review would not make sense, and probably would lead us astray.

We've already said, that the album is the one that begun an era in Finnish rock music and especally in Nollapiste's music. How about the ones before? I see the band going more and more popwise on this album and bringing the popculture with them to the 21st century, while during the 90's the guys were really young and still trying to find their own style.

I shall conclude this short review with a praise. This album is definately in the top 5 of the best Finnish rock albums ever made. Yet, for the prog-fans it still serves the expected quality. The album sounds better after each listen. Just don't judge before you really know the record, like i did once. I believe the album deserves a whole 4 out of 5 in the international scene. If you like art-rock the least bit, give this one a go.

If a band was ever balancing between the prog rock and non-prog rock, that's the one. (except WISHBONE ASH, maybe?). Well, this one is not similar to any other band in that subcategory, and I dare say to any other band on this web site in general.

Pop elements are omnipresent. There is no "pop" thingie you can point your finger at, bit the songs are easy digestible. They often gave some ska/reggae/pop-rock core, but on the other hand they sound grungy very often. Chord progressions are weird. I mean, weird. Perhaps they're not elaborated with counterpoint, there are no complex jazz harmonies etc...the chords are mostly simple majors and minors. But the sequence of those chords...oh my..well think of NIRVANA or some other Seattle indie/grunge band.The songs are not prog, but the chords progressions are everything but usual. This album is dating from 1995, so I won't be surprised if it was really influenced by the grunge movement. However, the chords are weird because the sung melodies are weird (or vice versa), so it could be just a coincidence, nothing to do with aforementioned genre that I'm not particularly fond of. To put it simple, it sounds weird and unique, but not forced, in a word, it's good.

Despite all the oddities, the melodies are catchy. Perhaps because I like the vocal delivery so much. Liimatta's voice sounds like he will break in tears every second. It's mournful. However, the overall music picture is far from sad, and I really doubt the lyrics are said neither. Without understanding a single word of Finnish, without need to read band's biography, I KNOW there are some witty, unusual and probably funny lyrics going on. This is a labour of smart brains we are dealing with.

On a side note, there are some proggy moments here and there, synth and organ...well, you know. Just to show off some diversity. Nice.

Unfortunately, since I'm not able to fully appreciate the music because of my ignorance towards the language, the album drags a bit (for me). It's too long anyway; some songs are weaker, and after trying to listen to it in a whole, I'm exhausted rather than entertained. Which is a pity because some tracks are real gems.

No conclusion. I'm stuck in the cul de sac here. I like what I've heard, but I'm not sure should I (and/or where) investigate further. And I am not quite sure to whom to suggest it..surely to people who speak Finnish but....ME, suggesting this band to Finns, that's a bit pathetic, don't you think so?

I put the album on my computer and started listening to it while surfing the net. So it went as a background music and sounded a bit boring to me. There was some highlights, though; "Kupit On Kuin Olisi Häät" which I had already heard and "Suvannossa Ylpeä Ilme" which had great sounding moments in it. When I listened to "Suljettu" for the second time (this time with stereos), it didn't suddenly have any boring moments on it. Nearly every track sounded good, especially "Sukututkimus Lannistaa" and above- mentioned "Suvannossa Ylpeä Ilme".

Thenceforth the album got better and better at every listening. After the loan-time I returned the album to library and suddenly the title "Suljettu" was found on the top of my CD-shopping list. It didn't appear there too long, though, because Santa Claus had a pleasant surprise for me.

The band is skilled, but they don't overtry. Instead they play extremely tight and the music GROOVES! That is unfortunately rare these days. The band isn't very well known in Finland or particularly anywhere else in the world. One of the things that can drive away some listeners is Tommi Liimatta's laconic way of singing combined to his odd lyrics.

It's a pity, that most of the foreign listeners can not understand the great story of "Suljettu". I think Liimatta is the best lyricist in Finland. At times the story of "Suljettu" makes you laugh and suddenly it makes you nearly cry.

This album is maybe the best Finnish album ever and extremely addictive for its great story, which I haven't solved yet perfectly. Stand-out tracks are "Kasvatus", "Sukututkimus Lannistaa", "Joen Silmille" and "Suvannossa Ylpeä Ilme".

The album opens with beautiful piano & flute interplay, which is a combination heard frequently on the following tracks along with a hint of hard rock here, some moody keyboards there and more traditional proggish rock sound in between. The album is very much dominated by Aki Lääkkölä's wonderful guitar and piano work and the guest starring flute adds a great flavor throughout the album. The thing that sadly gets lost on foreigners is Tommi Liimatta's lyrics, highly respected in the Finnish not-the-most- mainstream rock scene. With his original laconic voice he sings powerful or sometimes just funnily weird lines on topics such as giving artificial respiration to a lamb, childhood swimming trips, divorce, political revolution and mr. God Almighty himself.

If you are a Finnish prog fan and for some reason have not yet gotten to know this band, you definitely should do so, because this is an excellent album by any standards. If you are a foreigner and not afraid to try some more exotic stuff for a change, this could be a very fine album to try out.