AAVA TUULEN MAA

This 3rd release must have been a pivotal one for our isolated and consistently brooding Russian group that fetishizes a modicum of the Finnish language in its works. After all, 14 years later they "revised" it in an album appropriately called "ATM Revised", further boosting its cache by acronymizing its title. This review deals with the original, as that first cut is usually the most profound. Indeed, it's the most impressive outing by the group to that date, but still not the chef d'oeuvre for which I'm still hoping.

I never thought I would be begging for a bit of the metal forged in their debut, or for extra metal at my meal period, but by far the best track here is "Fohn" and it's the heaviest, at least for the first half before they get all frustratingly reflective yet again. The group is tighter here though, perhaps because it's just the 2 main characters with no invitees, and they do make a joyful noise, morose though it may be. The acoustic and electric guitars, piano and violin traded off with electronic keyboards (including moogy touches) tastefully, sometimes too much so, and the vocals are spare and comparable to TENHI with voice lessons. Yeah I had to mention TENHI again. Only the finale is weaker, and, while it's sometimes hard to distinguish one KAUAN piece from the next, I really can't see the point of the last one other than to meet time limits, not that it's awful or anything.

If this is your "typical" post rock, I'm not sure why I am so late to the party but I plan to stay a while and take in a few other acts along the way, just seeing where that northern wind takes me next.