FOLK AESTHETIC 1996-2006

In terms of sheer value, Tenhi's Folk Aesthetic compilation offers a real treasury for fans of the band, featuring three CDs of material, each offering a different approach to unearthing the band's vault.

CD1 presents a set of mini-releases from early in the band's career. First up is Kertomuksia, Tenhi's first demo, which mostly consists of material which would be rerecorded for their first two albums, aside from "Tenhi" itself, but it remains an interesting starting point for the band which reveals their command of atmosphere from an early stage in their development. It's followed up by the more self-assured Hallavedet, which raises the question "How long must a single run before it becomes an EP?" It boasts only two tracks but has a nearly 16 minute running time. Compared to their debut demo, this shows a bit more polish, as well as incorporating a greater use of vocals. CD1 is rounded off with Airut;Ciwi. Centred around the epic Kielo, this mini-release from Tenhi finds them getting closer to their creative peak but still not yet attaining it.

The second disc's collection of alternate versions, demos, and unreleased songs holds up remarkably well for such an odds-and-sods collection, a credit to the consistent quality of Tenhi's work as well as the distinctiveness of their titular folk aesthetic. The collection is rounded off with Kaski, an entire unreleased album, whose laid-back, almost folk- ambient style and vocal experiments makes me very glad it was saved from the cutting room floor because it can sit with pride next to the rest of Tenhi's discography.

If you're a Tenhi superfan, this would clearly be an essential release for you; looking at things with a bit more perspective, though, this isn't a five-star collection simply because the material here isn't consistently of five-star quality - but then again, it doesn't really dip below four stars either. As far as vault-raiding collections go, that's doing pretty well.