Taipuva Luotisuora - II. 2006 Finland

After being completely blown away by their debut, I rushed out to buy the followup which had just been released at the time I’d discovered the debut. Some noticeable changes have taken place in the short year since. The guitars are slightly heavier, not quite metal, but a distinct modern hard rock crunch is present. There are now vocals, which could be a great addition for a band like Taipuva, but I felt they’re executed all wrong for the exotic music at hand. First the lyrics are in English, rather than the more interesting and non Indo-European Finnish. Worse, they’re delivered with the whiny American indie style that seems will never go away (sigh). Perhaps a more mysterious approach to the vocals (female, echoed, whispered) would be far more interesting for the music that Taipuva play. The instrumentation seems stripped down a bit (though the liner notes still call out the kantele, violin, Hohner Melodica, and woodwinds). Also, not near enough of the Hidria Spacefolk, Korai Orom sound as prior – though as a plus I do hear some of the much missed Dutch group Kong. And finally, the modern electronica sounds of the debut are even more in use here, most notably on ‘Uotila’ and ‘Unaja Infinite Laser’. Now this latter point actually demonstrates some progress for the band. Like a good movie director would employ, the special effects are used to enhance, not overwhelm the proceedings. I don’t want to overplay the negative here with the vocals, as "Viking Zulu" does possess a good voice, and there are only 4 tracks where they are utilized, out of 9 total. In some ways, all the tracks (including those with vocals) are more complex than even the first album, which is outstanding to see. Still, the Taipuva Luotisuora tribe" that the music created for my imagination is missing here. So probably this album is the one that is favored by the majority, but I found it more typical of the underground scene. I miss the exotic nature of the debut. Not wanting to send the wrong message here – this is still a fantastic album, just a bit disappointed that it seems to be a step towards the middle.

Ownership: CD: 2006 Kaakao

6/7/06; 10/26/17 (new entry)