KILONOVA

Compared to the previous album Alkusoitto (2020) that I reviewed yesterday, this is a different beast altogether. See yourself what the band says in their bio: happier mood, faster tempo, etc. The more spatial and all- instrumental Alkusoitto was seasoned with voice samples dealing with space theories and astronauts. The band's science fiction orientation is much more down to earth this time, in a happy way indeed.

The instrumental opener 'Kohti tuntematonta' (= Towards the unknown) rocks with bubbling energy, and so does 'Hyperkuutio' (= Hyper cube). How to describe the sound? It's somewhere between Steve Hillage and The Police at their most energetic. 'Lasisilmä' (= Glass eye) is the first track with vocals. Musically it continues in the same uptempo direction with a faint early 80's Rush vibe to my ears, except for the male vocals and harmonies that come closer to, say, Fish On Friday.

The instrumental 'Yläkannella' (= On the upper deck) has a charming late 70's disco influence and a fusion groove combined with psychedelic space rock. This is a lovely piece in its sunny happiness. The title track has acoustic guitar and many kinds of vocal attributions, and being in a slower tempo it has a powerful, slightly dystopic atmosphere. This direction is taken further in 'Palava aurinko' (= Burning sun) which is a gorgeously emotional prog-pop song with good vocals.

The next pop-sensible vocal song 'Ohikulkija' (= Passer-by) returns to the Signals era Rush reminding energy. If the 80's Genesis were one of the inspirations as the band mentions, they really used that influence in a good way. I also came to think of some late 70's Camel songs such as 'Wing and a Prayer' mainly for the vocals, but this song is more interesting. The final song 'Universum' sounds immediately great. Slowish tempo, moody guitar chords and a very nice female vocal guest appearance from Heli Valkama, joined by a male voice.

This is a pleasant album of partly instrumental pop-prog alternating between happy uptempo energy and the more emotionally oriented songwriting with intriguing lyrics in Finnish. It's remarkable how a band can do two completely different albums and artistically succeed in both of them. Alkusoitto may more easily find its international target audience, but personally in the end I'm perhaps more charmed by this poppier album featuring vocals.