KAARMELAUTAKUNTA

With their sophomore album "Käärmelautakunta", Alamaailman Vasarat stay true the basis of their first album, but change things up just enough to make it a more enjoyable listen. This album follows in the footsteps of the longer and slower (and actually more beautiful) songs from the debut. The result is a slower and darker album with more of an emphasis on structure and melody and not frantic, directionless bursts horns and heavy metal cellos. Some people may be disappointed because of that, but some songs still do that, namely "Astiatehdas" and "Lentävä mato" which are, not surprisingly, the shortest on the album.

I find this to a much more enjoyable listen than the debut. The band takes more time to develop songs and give them direction and meaning. It's not quite as "fun" as the debut, but the band has a much more mature sound- and that's always a good thing. But despite these changes I'm talking about, fans should not be worried because AV are still playing their unique type of acoustic gypsy folk music, blaring horns and all. It's just that their presentation of it is a little different. Who wants to hear the same album twice? In any case, "Käärmelautakunta" is another enjoyable album from AV, even more so than the debut and still a pleasure listening to.

Standout songs: "Vasaraasialainen", "Astiatehdas"