back

artist :	Alamaailman Vasarat
album :	Kinaporin Kalifaatti
Alamaailman Vasarat - Kinaporin Kalifaatti

Sometimes — rarely, but sometimes — the best description of a band comes from the band itself. "Alamaailman Vasarat is a Finnish group playing horny and punky secret agent brass music," claims this band's website, and for their first two albums, Vasaraasia and Käärmelautakunta, this amusing blurb is awfully accurate in a strange way. On this album, which sees the ethnic-brass-punk group (another of their own remarkably appropriate descriptions) collaborating with Finnish vocalist Tuomari Nurmio, the description doesn't fit quite as well. To my initial disappointment, many of the elements that made AV's first two albums so unique are gone. The long, slow dirges full of mournful cello and sinister pump organ are nowhere to be found. The heavy-metal cello playing, miked and amplified to sound like crunchy electric guitars, has also disappeared. Even the overall brooding and claustrophobic mood has pretty much been replaced by a more upbeat and almost traditionally jazzy vibe. Make no mistake, the instrumentation on this album is nearly precisely the same as on previous albums; the cello playing is still killer and the leads on saxes and trombone still catchy as hell, but the overall method of attack has changed significantly to more conventional approach. Though I know nothing about Scandinavian folk aside from the rockified stuff on labels like Northside, I imagine this new approach is somewhat closer to that tradition, while still borrowing from jazz and klezmer as well. Tuomari Nurmio adds a rock influence with his gravelly vocals — these take some getting used to, and sometimes I still find myself wishing for the deep and idiosyncratic voice of Höyry-kone's Topi Lehtipuu, but I've acclimated myself to them and have come to appreciate his admittedly fairly unique style. The vocals are omnipresent, though; this album is a 180 degree turn from AV's previous entirely instrumental efforts, with every song featuring Nurmio. "Riivattu" is a favorite of mine, featuring a jerky rhythm elaborated on guitar (a new instrument for the band, which Nurmio plays) overlaid by vaguely klezmerish horns, swooping cello, and a tuba bleating off and on around the beat. I also really like the more downtempo "Rypistynyt profeetta," with its juxtaposition of a jazzy groove and a pump organ drone. This neat combination gives out midway through to a section that borrows heavily from a generic Middle-Eastern vibe, particularly in the percussion, then goes all cinematic and, well, "secret agent" before returning to the original theme. Fun. All those James Bond scenes set in Egypt and such would have benefitted greatly from music like this. So don't get me wrong — Kinaporin Kalifaatti is less wacky than either of the band's previous albums, but it's still pretty wild stuff. Fans of the earlier material that can handle unusual vocals should be perfectly happy with this one, though it probably isn't the right place to start for potential new listeners. There is also a very nice bonus DVD featuring five songs performed by the band, all with Nurmio on vocals, which is thoroughly enjoyable. So while this may not be exactly the direction I'd like to see Alamaailman Vasarat going in for future albums, as a detour it's a nice treat. (source: www.progreviews.com) (Roger Rey)