Paavoharju-Laulu Laakson Kukista Review
Wish I knew what the words meant . . .
The descriptors generally applied to Paavoharju’s 2008 sophomore effort, Laulu Laakson Kukista include experimental, ambient, folk, though they all apply obliquely, as far cas I an hear. This LP has everything. The second track “Kevatrumpu” moves like a muddy dance song, while the fifth is a forty-nine second score to a very short film. The online literature proposes that this ten-member Finnish band is composed of ascetic Christians, and though I might not have thought so had I failed to cross the description, I began to notice after reading it that there is a worshipful quality to the music. No, it’s not Gregorian chant; even without knowing the lyrical content (since it is in Finnish); one can assume prima facie the music is closer to Sufjan Stevens‘ orch-folk stylings.
With so many members I expected the sound to vary from track to track, and certainly this was the case. “Italialaisella laivalla” beguiles; it sounds like Leonard Cohen from the ’60s. Then suddenly the sound changes, and with flickers of electronic noises and over a bed of drone, it softly surges into the ambient spaces of Cluster & Eno. “Uskallan” begins with sounds of a baby’s cries, then a male voice takes over on the verses, singing over female counter-melodies, an orchestral chorus follows, with mechanized slurping sounds (for lack of better terms) interrupts in the internecine bits. (Yes, there are some funny moments on the album).
A brief reflection on the Finnish language: I couldn’t distinguish it from any other Scandinavian language; to me it sounded several other languages I had heard. After hearing “Kirkonvaki,” however, with what are like beautiful sirens’ voices overdubbed, some backwards, I know I need to listen to other Finnish bands.
As people have already commented, the album coheres in a strange way: with segments of sounds which slip into songs, and vice versa. What is the thread that ties, I couldn’t say, but there is an eery melodic continuity which persists throughout the album. I got the feeling that this is music meant to be listened to without any expectations. Partly the result of the language barrier an English speaker encounters, but also because the record is dense; it is the outcome of long intense contemplations on art, human relations, dreams. One need not understand the language to get a sense of how lovingly the album was crafted.
As a finnish who’s very into this blog i’m happy to notice that some of our music gets some credit in here too (:
And hey, here’s just one tip, you should try Scandinavian Music Group!