VALKAMA

Finnish village elders TENHI resume their Fibonacci sequence based release schedule, meaning the next one might be due in 15 years or so. Even though I feel that Tyko, Ilmari and company have never quite matched the brilliance of their first 2 efforts, I was still quite excited to learn about "Valkama". And overall I'm pretty pleased, as this is a marked improvement over 2011's "Saivo".

Unlike some artists who may be judged by the breadth of styles and moods they present, TENHI's strength lies partly in their uniformity. It's a one hour investment in meditative contemplation at the intersection of profound tristesse and soaring silent awe. To this end, while the opener is monotonous even by their standards, it does serve as an effective induction. Barely shifting in over 11 minutes, it is nonetheless an exercise in choral elegance that sets the stage for all that follows. While variation presents in the martial rhythms and flutes of "Rintamaan", which reminds me of German neo folk like FORSETI, and the acoustic amber of "Sydames On Tiel", two of my favourites, the whole would not be as strong without classic TENHI like "Hele", the ritualistic "Elokuun Linnut", and the hypnotic "Veden Elein". One of TENHI's many understated strengths is the authentic integration of voice such that I'm hard pressed to remember which tracks even include vocals. While they rarely attain some of the starkest summits of their earliest recordings, only "Rannankukka" and the closing number remind me of the type of morbid morosity that occasionally besieged the "Maaaet" and "Saivo" eras.

In all, "Valkama" offers a haven for TENHI's strengths and retrenches their mastery over icily cold yet warmly soulful neo folk, Nordic style.