KINAPORIN KALIFAATTI (WITH TUOMARI NURMIO)

Yeah, it's not fair to give two stars to such a great band, but hey, what they did here on "Kinaporin Kalifaatti" does not concern the progressive community (for what i think it is). Pairing with folk singer Tuomari Nurmio, you will hardly find on this new album the amazing collison of genre that Alamaailman Vasart was know for. This is almost straight rock with flavours of local folklore with a bit of klezmer thrown in the mix. The musicianship is still pristine but would definitely satisfies more people into Tom Waits or Nick Cave...

My positive review should be seen as a viewpoint of a Finn, and I'm not surprised if this release would be a disappointment for a non-Finnish listener. I adored on this collaboration how Tuomari Nurmio's presence tamed the vigorous approach of Alamaailman Vasarat to more tamer and moody art rock impressionis, as I did not like their own typical way of humoristic aggression from previous records or concert encounters. All of them are skillful musicians certainly, so this is an evident case of personal musical taste preferences. Many albums of Tuomari Nurmio are too basic pop music for me to enjoy, excluding his rootsy debut and few experimental later recordings, this synthesis creating something fine from between these constrasting worlds. "Arabian Kuu" (Arabian Moon) criticizes bitterly the American foreign policy practiced in the Middle-East, and the song themes move lyrically much in the Piritori-hoods of Kallio district. The band concept lingers near the King Crimson's double trio setup, but emphasizing more acoustic leanings. Moody art music from the alleys of unpolished truths.

3,5 stars!

Alamaailman Vasarat are back, this time collaborating with Finnish folk-singer Tuomari Nurmio. AV's first two albums were certainly quite wild and innovative, but (un)fortunately ? Tuomari Nurmio's influence has tamed their sound somewhat. I don't mind really, because I still maintain that this is more of a Tuomari Nurmio solo album than anything else. All the compositions are his, they've just been adapted to fit the crazy style of AV.

You will still hear many of the same elements that made AV so fun, but the atmosphere is certainly more upbeat and you won't hear any fiersome cello attacks on this one. Nurmio has certainly added his own touch to the album, as the music is much folkier with even traces of bluegrass and polka, without forgetting AV's touch of klezmer and jazz music. Nurmio's vocals are quite rough, and original, but not to everyone's liking.

The album's focus is probably too much on Tuomari Nurmio's vocals for the average proghead, so I do understand if the non-finnish speaking audience will find this a tad disappointing. I personally find Kinaporin Kalifaatti inventive, refreshing and definitely very enjoyable.

Fans of Alamaailman Vasarat should be able to enjoy this, but I agree with progmonster's assessment that this is more likely to please a Tom Waits fan than the average proghead. Four stars if this wasn't a prog-site.

Third album from those crazy Finns, but this time with singer Tuomari Nurinio. Not that the music has changed that outside of the fact that the music has many vocal parts, but this interesting collaboration will hopefully remain just an anecdote in AV's career. Because one thing that does change with the appearance of vocals is the lesser role of instrumental interplay and much of the madness of their previous album. We are again hovering on eastern European jazz/gypsy influences as their previous two albums had before, but the vocals bring a more music-hall feel and I cannot help but thinking of Belgian gritty-voiced singer Arno doing his French-type of Chanson Française with the same kind of orchestration (but the musicians are clearly not as good as AV, though). So in this album, AV does more "songs" rather tracks, pieces or numbers.

However, if the Cd did not appeal to me much, I must admit that the DVD of 5 tracks was much more fun. Not that the music played on the DVD differs from the one played in the Cd, but getting an occasion to see the music played before your very eyes is quite beneficial to the enjoyment of the music. Actually this short DVD saves the album from boredom.