MIST SEASON

It's actually eight years ago when I first borrowed the Finnish MIST SEASON's two first albums from a library and was pretty pleased. The CD booklets were packed with beautiful outdoor photography, mostly nocturnal in the case of the debut, suitably steering my reception towards starry-eyed romanticism. Perhaps my music taste was back then slightly mellower than today, as some of this music now feels too spinelessly soft. "Too nice for its own good", headlines Finnforest's two-star review for this debut. I certainly understand his thought: MIST SEASON's instrumental, highly melodic and smooth jazz-fusion indeed often sounds harmlessly nice, especially when it is at its happiest mood. My female friend recently commented on this album that some tracks sound like opening themes for TV quiz programmes, preferably from the late 70's or 80's, and I agreed. The first track 'Peppermint Patty' is exactly in that style with the joyous sax melody. I usually prefer melancholia over happiness in music anyway.

'Lydia', also composed by the keyboard player Timo Kajamies, succeeds in combining brighter sections with slow, dreamy and deeply romantic ones. 'My Joy' and 'Life Is' are other TV theme-like tunes. The playing is very polished, the saxophone is a bit cheesy all the way and the bright piano decorations of 'My Joy' are slightly oriented to easy-listening / New Agey stuff. But luckily the album gets better.

'Siren's Gaze' by drummer Kimmo Pörsti and bassist Keijo Hakala is a relaxed, serene ballad and quite beautiful as such. The mellow guitar sound reminds me of PAT METHENY. All in all the romantic emotions that grace the whole album come to life much better when the general mood is less joyous than on the earliest tracks. 'Kati' by Pörsti is a delicate love tune, featuring lovely flute playing. The drummer is without a doubt a romantic soul, and it can be witnessed also in PAIDARION's music that he has composed.

The tightest composition of the 11 is 'Skeptoscopic Detector' which allows the guitarist Tommi Varjola to show off his skills -- that could have been put in much larger use on the album. The track approaches the Fusion era's halcyon days of the mid-seventies. 'Lullaby for the Little One', again by Timo Kajamies who composed tha lion's hare of this album, is a peaceful and pretty closing tune.

Even though I don't like the rather naive happiness of some tracks and would welcome some more spine, I'm rounding my 3½ stars upwards with the help of the lavish and beautiful layout. This band is warmly recommended to all friends of mellow and melodic jazz/fusion.