KINGS OF TIME

Post-rock hasn't been very crowded subgenre in Finland. There's still no serious competitor -- perhaps apart from Plain Fade -- for Magyar Posse to be remembered as the best Finnish post-rock group ever. The Pori-based band recorded just three albums before calling it a day in 2012, but each of them is an excellent and, in a good way, representative item of the subgenre. Recorded in 2003 and released two years after the debut We Will Carry You Over The Mountains, Kings of Time contains seven untitled tracks. According to guitarist Harri Sippola, they simply didn't invent any names good enough. Whatever the reason is, the namelessness functions well as it gives the listener total freedom to form his/her own unique inner visions from the lyricless and very cinematic music. Instead of a regular cover leaflet/booklet, there are four two-sided cards featuring graphic art by Herra Ylppö (in a Soviet-like style; see the album cover here).

Maiju Peltomäki and Finnish-American experimental artist Vuk add some human voices to the album, but Magyar Posse's music is instrumental all the way. The opening part is the second longest at 7:31. For the first half it just paints an abstract and spacey soundscape, almost like early Tangerine Dream, until the entry of softly played acoustic guitar and hazy female voice. On the more intense 2nd part violin and female voice colour the typically gritty post-rock sound. Both the sonic details and the sorrowful melodies bring Ennio Morricone's film music in mind. This association lingers nearby throughout the 48-minute suite, which is not a bad thing in my opinion.

The dynamics are wide along the album that uses dramatic percussion, strong piano clusters and desperately wailing voices, and very delicate and dreamy nuances as well, but the melancholic atmosphere is never broken by an irritating sense of edginess just for the sake of it. The compositions also rely sincerely on the melodies that are full of emotion. All in all, Kings of Time is relatively accessible as a post-rock album, never losing the listener's attention with directionless sonic mess. For a good reason the Finnish rock critics named it as one of the year's finest domestic albums, and after 14 years it still sounds timeless.