AINAVIHANTAA

After releasing two studio albums with the same 5 piece lineup Tony the guitarist has left and was replaced by a horn man thus changing their sound significantly. The singer also always played guitar and still does but there's much less of it. No guest flute like on the debut instead we get a trombone and trumpet player guesting on that final track. My first listens to an album are usually very telling as I have an ear for the things that I'm prejudiced about when it comes to my music and with this album I instantly had reservations about the style of that sax feeling it's getting a little too smooth there at times. Still many listens certainly overcomes some of the things that bug me and I do really like this album overall. I still prefer the debut though, it's more my style.

So six tracks and two of those are instrumentals. All the info in the liner notes is in Finnish just like the vocals. But yes the mellotron is back and the organ is again prominent. And I do like those understated vocals a lot. They remind me of some bands but not enough to put a finger on which ones. A nice warm analog sound here and the one thing this album beats the debut with are those uplifting moments like on the closer when the vocals and sound all gets louder after 5 minutes it's just such an emotional moment. And yes this album seems to break out much more than the debut which doesn't always mean it's a good thing.

The opener starts with some thought as we hear pings like on FLOYD's "Echoes" then synths roar in before it turns heavy. Best part is when it calms down and the vocals arrive reminding me of the debut. Organ floats in the background with a slow beat plus throbbing bass lines. It all gets louder after 3 minutes as a horn joins in. A calm follows then synths growl over the bass and drums. Vocals are back before 4 1/2 minutes. Themes are repeated. A really good opener. Next is an instrumental that brings VIOLETA DE OUTONO to mind at the beginning, mainly the organ and picked guitar. A change as clarinet arrives and much more. I love how it brightens at 1 1/2 minutes. Pretty cool and a moving section for me with that picked guitar, floating organ, bass and drums. That might be my favourite.

A catchy chugging rhythm on the third track. Mellotron flutes after a minute and I like that guitar as it all calms down here. Horns join in before 2 minutes. Mellotron is great. That catchy rhythm is back! Themes keep coming back in this one. Vocals for the first time at 4 minutes during a calm. "Dyadi" opens with atmosphere as drums and bass join in. Mellotron floods the place. Yeah this is really good. Not as good when the horns and vocals arrive but it's still excellent. Organ kicks in. It's moving as the vocals get more passionate 2 minutes in. "Haavan Vari" is the shortest track and a cool little instrumental. Love that bass and the guitar around 1 1/2 minutes. Organ comes in with authority a minute later. Not big on the honking horn style later on that closer, reminds me of THE BEATLES.

I really like this band they do it right even though I feel they could do each album better, but that's more my tastes than anything else.

At the time of the second album Toinen Toista (2018) of this very retro-spirited Finnish prog group I was enthused and gave it a five-star praise. From today's perspective I'd probably round it down to four stars. With this notion I'm kinda smoothening my slightly more reserved reception for this third album, indicating that it's not really a disappointment per se. According to the promo sticker on the vinyl's cover "Ainavihantaa is a step further and higher". I certainly get the point. In a way this is more ambitious prog in the manner of early King Crimson than their fairly mellow precedessors.

A change in the line-up is elemental in the sound. Exit guitarist Tony Björkman (leaving all the guitar duties to vocalist Baba Issabeigloo), enter Taavi Heikkilä on alto/tenor saxophone and clarinet. The presence of sax helps associating the music with the early Crimso and also with the Finnish vintage prog of Haikara. The overall mood is a bit darker than before. This is especially felt on the melancholic opener 'Alava vaara'. The Mellotron is in the core of the majestic vintage approach, and one could easily imagine Ian McDonald (r.i.p.) blowing the saxophone.

'Vapaa ja autio' (= "free and deserted") is a fine and rather mellow instrumental. The most solistic parts are for alto sax. 'Sisävesien rannat' (= "shores of inland waters") is instrumental for the large part. The first half is like a jam-based attempt of sounding like saxy prog from the late 60's/ early 70's before calming down to the serene and ethereal latter half with the vocal part. The clarinet & piano interplay brings an elegant chamber music ingredient. I wish this piece would have continued and made a stronger conclusion instead of just withering away.

I like the lyrics by drummer Juuso Jylhänlehto throughout the album. The imagery deals with nature -- the dying and rebirth -- and human beings in an introvert and esoteric way. The melodicism of 'Dyadi' (what is a dyadi??) comes perhaps the closest to the Toinen Toista album, but there's a slight sense of over- extension in seven minutes, at least in the instrumental tail. 'Haavan väri' is the other completely instrumental piece, again the sax is up front. Well, this is okay, nothing very impressive. The track title has two meanings: it can either mean "the colour of a wound" or "the colour of an aspen". It must be a leaf of an aspen on the cover (which I honestly consider rather dull). The album's title track may be my favourite. It has melodic delicacy and the majestic feel of the early symphonic prog, containing also strong details in the arrangement, trombone and trumpet guesting.

If you're not yet familiar with Malady but enjoy retro- oriented mellowish prog in Finnish, and have nothing against saxophone, this album is equally as recommendable as Toinen Toista.