TIETÄJÄN LAULU

The main change in the short time between debut and sophomore albums by this Finnish-obsessed group of Russians is the absence of the doom metal forays and the associated growls. The jangly electric guitars, pianos, and morose affects are all in abundance, which makes them sound even more like TENHI than before. Unfortunately, the tracks are longer and, while shifts do occur, they are disruptive without breaking the monotony if that makes any sense. Even in "Lumikuuro" I was a bit frustrated with the ambiguous track boundaries; this continues but is now less energetic and much less dramatic. Only the opener and "Äidin laulu" are fully realized, and the two tracks that might be in Russian based on their titular alphabet are neither different nor engrossing enough to justify the diversion. Nice duda though.