ussi Lehtisalo and Mika Rättö of Circle fame. If you'd like more background info on these guys and or Circle, then id say go back and look at my review of Circles End Of Time 7". Right now I'm just in the mood to talk about this release. This record technically hasn't even been physically released yet, but thanks to the Ektro records sound cloud page I was able to preview it. With that in mind, I'm not sure which song is on the A-side or B-side, but for the sake of this review lets assume that the A-side is made up of the track Spiritismi and the B-side Pilvivuori.
The A-side, Spiritismi, is a very etherial, folkie/jazz number revolving around a very bright and hypnotic acoustic chord progression. On top of this is a very soft whisper like vocal performance by Rättö, which sounds far more reserved then his vocal performances on Circle records. The chorus (If you could call it that) is one of the most unexpected turns in a song ever. Dark, frantic and random are the only words that come to mind when you hear it. What makes it even more strange is that the drummer does not pick up his playing at all, he maintains the same soft, tight jazzy drumming while everything else erupts into chaos. This creates a very strong atmospheric effect, as do the vocal synths that appear near the end of the song. Over all this song has one of the strangest moods iv ever heard. Calm, dark and pretty, but also momentarily frantic. After reading that review you wouldn't think that would be a winning formula for a cathy song, but it somehow gets stuck in your head (and iv always thought its a true testament to strong song writing when something so strange, without lyrics in English can get stuck in your head).
The B-side, Pilvivuori, follows the almost identical musical formula as Spiritismi. The only different is that the chorus is less dark and frantic and the verses are slightly more up-beat and less mellow. The vocal performance on this song also brings a bit more energy and melody to this song. Overall both songs are a lot more concise and tight then previous ep's and albums by both Rättö ja Lehtisalo and Circle.
As strange as these songs are, they are tremendously catchy. Its impressive to see after so many albums and so many years of writing music that both Lehitisalo and Rättö are able to keep things fresh. This is easily my favourite release under the moniker Rättö ja Lehtisalo and is something I can see myself coming back to for a long time. My only complaint is that both songs follow such a similar formula. After being blown away by the first song, I was easily able to see where the second one was going and didn't get that same feeling of awe (even though I prefer the song Pilvivuori to Spiritismi).
Check it out and decide for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUPtucPZ3zE
Final Score: 7.8/10
