NO PRISTINE RUBBERY PERCEPTION

The letters PRP undoubtedly mean something like Petteri & Rami Project. Singing multi-instrumentalists Petteri Kurki and Rami Turtiainen form, together with another multi-instrumentalist, mainly violinist Jarno Koivunen, a group called Grus Paridae. In 2014 Grus Paridae released their debut single, and a couple of further singles have followed, such as the gorgeous, Floydian-sounding, 9-minute song 'Forthcoming Nonintellectual Decadence' in 2016. The single-oriented approach has earned Grus Paridae plenty of online radio play in several countries (we're talking of prog oriented radios).

Then Rami and Petteri realized that some of their new songs were "heavier and more psychedelic than the mellower and classically influenced direction that Grus Paridae had taken". Again, a new single was released, but with a new moniker, PRP. 'Rubber Hands / SunSon' (2017) even won the third place among hundreds of singles in the annual dj poll of the British Wigwam Online Radio. "This gave us courage to work out more material for PRP, and little by little a loose conceptual album entity was built around 'Rubber Hands'". In the already familiar habit, more singles follow too, but now it's time to evaluate an album.

The instrumental opening track delicately paints a melancholic mood, whereas 'Rubber Hands' that starts with a sharp scream and a noise of breaking glass is bass-dominating, psych-flavoured heavy prog à la PORCUPINE TREE. Sonically, this power duo has no Achilles heels. Both men handle guitars, synths, drums and percussion programming with technical ability, and also the vocals work fairly well. Guitar-oriented 'No' continues in the hard style with harsh lyrics. My favourite track 'Rubber Hands, Pt. II - Days' reminds me of NEKTAR, not least because of the vocals that sound like Roye Albrighton.

Instrumental 'It's Never Allways' (sic) brings some acoustic guitar freshness amidst the gloomy overall atmosphere. 'Rubber Hands, Pt. III - The Sea of Streets' IMHO goes too far in its hostile angst. Considering the single-oriented recording history of these guys, the crucial question is: how do they succeed in the form of an album? The rather short album surely has its merits, especially in the sound department. There are lots of dynamic variety, but the whole leaves a bit uncomfortable aftertaste to me. For example, the order of tracks that has placed the psychedelic 'SunSon' as a bonus track, is not the best possible.

Personally, I would have preferred to hear an album by Grus Paridae instead. Can't help feeling slightly frustrated by the complex artist process.