-C-

In "C" Nurkostam show talent and promise, but still a strong deal of immaturity.

Nurkostam is a Finnish Art Rock project who back in 2006 released their first EP. The same year as their debut studio album, they publish their second EP, "C". Even though of humble origins and very modest sound recording, (quasi-lo-fi, to be frank), Nurkostam promises a good career, but some things, in order for that to happen, will have to change.

The Art Rock this band plays is very unique, that is unquestionable. Nurkostam have a great sense of melody and are really good songwriters, when they try hard. A lot of the songs here are quite memorable, some times even haunting. The heavy electronics of the drum machine, the arrangements that feel like plastic, and the overall instrumentation are the elements that ruin it. Even if Nurkostam truly wished to deliver a piece of work that was a mix of artificiality and minimalism, it wouldn't have harmed to have some of the sounds polished: the synths are very amateurish sounding, the rhythm section gets close to unbearable in some points, seeming a little uncoordinated, and honestly needless in a few spots. Nurkostam's vision is definitely an interesting one that would potentially be very effective in this reviewer's eyes. But the process of creating an album is like organizing a room's aesthetics: if one's wish is to have strange furniture around, or to make this room as minimalistic looking as possible, it's much more than acceptable, but there still must be some sort of harmony that gives the room a purpose. "C" is far too short and hasty, as if the band quickly laid down some songs, and messily glued them in these twenty eight minutes of space. It can't be denied however that It is packaged in an interesting way, thus the structure itself of the album does feel a bit more studied. Yes, it is undeniably a room with a purpose, but this purpose feels a bit vague and confused.

The sense of melody, again, is very sophisticated, and is the reason why I personally will be looking forward to seeing this band mature: "The Pearl Song", despite the annoying electronic background, has a beautiful melody and very soothing vocals. But the best song of the EP is unquestionably "Slo Lee", because of it's lack of excessive background: mostly acoustically driven, once again the vocals are the best dish. "Gone" is a bit more paranoid and tense sounding, and it is the final episode where useless nuisances are minimal: The drums are sharply played, the atmosphere is tense, the hook brilliant and memorable.

Nurkostam have potential, but there has to be something more to the releases: while the songwriting in itself is really promising, everything that surrounds it can be significantly improved.

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