MILJARD

I have to disagree all the former reviewers. Even two of them give quite positive reviews, they´re still give only three stars to this. To me this is at the moment the greatest Circle album I´ve heard. Of course I also will not recommend this to start as Circle music, because this album is very much different than almost all the other albums of them. Maybe you have to be from Finland and also from the countryside to understand the greatness of this album wholly.

To me this 2 hours are not long at all, I could have listened this even longer. Also over 20 minutes works are not too long, but I think it´s great thing there are those shorter pieces too to make this album more variable. Many albums are pieces of art also in their covers and I think this album works the best in it´s vinyl version that came last year. The black and white pictures from the small cottage near the lake in winter are just in the same mood as the music in this album. Even the clear vinyls reminds the ice in the up of the finnish lakes. I don´t know, has this album recorded in that small cottage, but anyway the whole atmosphere is like it is. And really, this album isn´t just ambient, it´s much more minimalistic avantgarde.

Parmalee starts album with the piano in very same kind of atmosphere as there is in Eno´s Music for Airports. But very soon it changes into more Circle way when guitars start to play very interesting and mystic things. In the middle of the music there comes synthesizer effect loop that lasts end of this piece. In the vinyl next is Duunila that I think should have started the whole album. Atmosphere is much darker and also really mystic. Acoustic guitar is playing a tuning sound and strange synthesizer sound is also on the back whole time. Guitars, piano and noises from the drums keep the interest during the whole piece. B.F.F is the lightest piece with jerky piano on the back and other piano, soundeffects and drums improvising on the front. Manni is the saddest piece and reminds me little rain. Salenius has lots in common to Duunila and could have easily grown as long, but I think it was great solution to leave it short.

Sophie is one of my favourites. Piano and guitar repeat the same thing whole through, but there are very interesting noises in the back. In the middle piano fades away and there comes noises that sound me like moose sounds. Mühle is the most oppressive piece, it´s great it´s short, because as a long piece it could challange ones mental health. Cornelia has a feel of a large space, maybe top of the hill. Bakkis is a drone piece of this album. And the last comes also one of my favourite, majestic Viitane. It´s also little bit oppressive, bringing into my mind somebody´s funeral. The sounds of synth effects remind me church bells. Anyway really love this dark ending, the cheerful piano in the end makes this a little bit lighter in the end.

This really isn´t easylistening album and really demands the listener whole concentration, otherwise it easily changes just background you can´t remember anything later. Music has always been really spiritual thing to me. I have listened some new age-music, but found them really boring. This and albums like Lou Reed´s Hudson River Wind Meditations work me much better.