A lady sings a Finnish folk song. The soft vocals continue and are accompanied by a hypnotic rhythm. “Salaseura” is slow, steady and calming. It is deep and melancholic. Uhrijuhla, whose name means “Sacrificial Feast” and is inspired by the film The Wicker Man, describe their music as psychedelic pop. So patience and reflection are the order of the day, at times minimalism even. “Uhrilehto” picks up but it ends with birds tweeting. I read somewhere an analogy between Uhrijuhla and Pink Floyd. I guess there’s something progressive here but the lightness and airy touches of Uhrijuhla seem to be powerless, swaying in imaginary clouds and invoking sleepiness.
“Dyynellä” takes us down a different avenue. To an eccentrically rocking backing track, a vocalist who sounds like he’s drunk or simply has sinister motives drily trots out his piece. Yet oddly, there’s something in the mocking tones and distortion of the Beatles of “I Am the Walrus” ilk about this. That persistent rocking beat was driving me insane so I was glad for the end. But “Juokse Poika Juoksa” is another languid female-fronted pop song. What I heard was an accumulated collection of psychedelic or sleepy, as you will, pop songs in which the drums set a sultry tone and the atmosphere is deliberately drab. “Puutarhassa”’s shimmering tones added a more interesting touch but this album was just getting more monotonous and more sleepy. I thought “Puuturhassa” had ended but it started again. I don’t think I dropped off. It’s like dreaming through clouds – of what, I could not say. Momentarily it goes haywire but in a calm way. “Verenpunainen” exudes dreary melancholia. It’s hard going, lacking in life and direction as it takes a leaf out of the 1970s progressive sound, not for the first time on the album. Then the male vocals disappear and it heads into a suggestively progressive passage. I realised this album is better without vocals as Uhrijuhla expand into hints of Eastern mystery. Expanding further and rekindling the 70s synth sound, “Verenpunainen” hums and buzzes and floats in a way we’ve not heard to this point. But it’s all too late as the lady returns for a few more softly sung words, and that’s it.
I found that “Jokainen on Vapaa Lintu” was so spaced out that it lacked life or interest, losing itself in its own haze. It came as no surprise when I discovered that the alum title means “Everyone is a Free Bird”. Float on ….
(5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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