STRINGPURÉE BAND

— First review of this album —

The debut of this Finnish fusion trio was released in 2008 as "Sanni Eskelinen & Stringpurée Band", placing the electric kantele player as the front(wo)man. Since also the drummer Niko Votkin and the bassist Kalle Ylitalo do compositions individually - the arrangements are naturally by the whole group - it's indeed more equal to use just Stringpurée Band as the performer's name. The debut gained some very warm response here. Sad to say but this second album is some sort of a disappointment to me. Where is the freshness and jazz-oriented groove?

One can truly say this album is more eclectic, whereas on the debut's behalf at least I would have labelled the group as Jazz Rock / Fusion. This band is a good example of how arbitrary and hazy the dividing lines between fusion and arty instrumental [prog] rock can be. Nevertheless, the unquestionable jazz aspect of fusion is not as apparent here, so the library's CD was placed not only under another name, but also under another musical genre than the debut!

'Control' (by Votkin) is an energetic and mostly fast opener. I'm not fond of the hurling and monotonous bass sound in the beginning, but luckily the track has a lot of progressivity, on some level comparable to PEKKA POHJOLA's music. 'Far East Western' (Votkin) is more delicate but also features emotionally stronger playing by each musician, and the bright kantele sound is very nice on it. Eskelinen's composition 'Kaahaus' (the word means driving too fast and dangerously) starts with a car horn and puts immediately the fast gear on. Violin and tenor sax are guesting on this hectic, speedy track which I don't enjoy at all. 'Aino' (Ylitalo) is nearly a ten-minute long, moody and unpredictable musical interpretation of the fate of the girl character in the Kalevala epic. This ambitious composition demands a lot of concentration from the listener to reveal its strength.

To be honest, the rest of the album I find terribly boring. 'Autus' (Ylitalo) is a low-key meditative noodling that seems to be going nowhere. Yawn... 'Kevottu' (Ylitalo) tries to be exciting with dynamic changes but in its lack of good melodies it feels very empty to me. Friends of eclectic prog such as the newer King Crimson may enjoy it though. 'Last Yellow' (Eskelinen) starts with a wandering solo bass. Kantele sounds great again, but the composition feels totally directionless. That unpredictability in itself may be something to admire for others but not for me. At this point I really miss the accessible jazzy spirit of the debut. 'Church Bells' (Eskelinen) continues the meditative side of this album. Better than many other tracks but it doesn't save the whole from making me bored and emotionally rather untouched.

Objectively this original music is definitely worth more than my two VERY subjective stars. I'm waiting for more reviews that most likely will be more favourable. C'mon, where are you who so warmly welcomed this group in the first place?

The Stringpuree Band is certainly among the most original groups around.And that's because their sound is based on its leader's electric kantele, a rarely found string instrument of the family of Baltic psalteries.Responsible for this is Senni Eskeklinen, who is known for playing the kantele on Nightwish'es ''Dark Passion Play'' album from 2007.Stringpuree hail from the Northern Savo region of Finland and, except Eskelinen, the original trio is completed by Niko Votkin on drums and Kalle Ylitalo on bass and slide guitar.They debuted in 2008 with a self-titled album on the independent label Texicalli Records, which issued the album both in CD and vinyl formats, while the trio was also helped by Astro Can Caravan's Otto Eskelinen on Farfisa synthorchestra and bandoneon and Emilia Lajunen on violin.

So, what sounds like when an electric kantele is combined with drums and bass?The result is a very atmospheric, electric and cinematic experience, where Folk Music meets Jazz/Fusion, while a slight Post Rock aura is also under the lines.Despite the limited instrumentation, the sound is dense and often powerful with jazzy and Ethnic orientations, highlighted by Eskelinen's work on kantele, which has an impressive sound somewhere between guitar, piano and harsichord.The music is mellow and smooth with occasional upbeat lifts, like on the extremely passionate ''Eastwood Agent'' and its intense KING CRIMSON-ian approach, based on a more powerful rhythm section and a more virtuosic and complicated performance by Eskelinen.A couple of very jazzy pieces, like for example ''Anxious Man'', are really fascinating and intricate, while you will be simply stunned by the ability of the trio to offer diverse atmospheres, exploring nostalgic territories, dark-sounding soundscapes and more cheerful textures.

Definitely a band to keep an eye on.Highly atmospheric music with well-based ideas and imaginative, slightly improvised themes, full of satisfying individual performances.Essential effort, if you happen to love both Folk and Jazz Music.