Burning Hearts' second full-length "Extinctions" is a treat. Delving into description disguised as heavy-handed metaphor would be a disservice to such a carefully crafted, thoughtful album, so I'll simple start with a hearty "wow." (It's worth noting the decision to forgo poetics was made after several spins marked by hand flailing and randomly squealed superlatives)
Yeah. It's good.
Other than injecting a note of mystery to their otherwise light-as-air pop confections -- perfected with the debut, "Aboa sleeping" -- very little has changed since the last time we met the Finnish quintet. Not that anything needed altering. The band has created another charming outing that leans just as much on French pop as Scandinavian melancholy, its nine tracks (including "The swallows" and "Into the wilderness" which first hit ears with last year's excellent "Into the wilderness" EP) splitting the difference between wistful refrains and modern synths. The album benefits heartily from vocalist Jessika Rapo's latter-day Nico delivery, but nowhere does it hit such heights as on "Love and dissonance", the soaring line, "Beautiful, beautiful sing me a song the way you used to do," rendered downright beatic in her melodic whisper. On "The best" her languid call hopscotches over the band's near near-folk instrumentation, complete with steel drum backing. But perhaps most surprising is "The swallows", where their formula of gentle instrumentation is turned on its head in favor of 1980s synths, with Rappo as a slow-motion dancing queen. Sure, their music is still sweet, but "Extinctions" -- in all its subtle variations -- only servers to demonstrate that Burning Hearts should be considered pop heavy weights. - Laura Studarus
"Burn burn burn" is the new single from Finnish indie act Burning Hearts, coming off the band's 2nd full-length album "Extinctions" which will be released on February 1 via .
There's quite a few American acts that aim to emulate the lush sound of the Beach Boys, but no one can nail their glorious melancholia quite like the Scandinavians. Magenta Skycode may lack a Hal Blaine to call their own, but that hardly matters when you got everything else required for a pop/rock symphony. Unlike Mandorla, who sound more like a convincing tribute (albeit a very good one, it must be said), these Finns go beyond the cutesy, sunshine pop to mine the darker undercurrents that made "Pet sounds" so unforgettable. Perhaps it's my overactive imagination, but I think there's a profound sadness to that album that oft goes overlooked and unrecognized. Magenta Skycode gives me that same feeling
In other Magenta Skycode news, will be celebrating the band's 5th anniversary on March 15 with the vinyl reissue of their first album "|||||" ("5 bars") on 180g LP + 7" with two extra tracks, packaged in a gatefold sleeve including full lyrics, liner notes and so on. The label will also be reissuing pre-Magenta Skycode act This Empty Flow's 1996 debut "Magenta skycode" (see the connection?) on April 27 in a limited 2xLP edition, the first time the record has ever been released on vinyl.
A bit of a strange mix, this. First off, the name Nightsatan might give the impression that we're dealing with some sort of extreme metal outfit. Then, the cyberpunk album artwork hints that we might be in for a punk rock affair, quite possibly laced with a good measure of electronica. What the Finnish trio have essentially come up with is an instrumental style that sounds off like Genghis Tron (minus any hint of metal) and Kraftwerk doing cheesy '80s movie soundtracks. It works well for the most part, offering an odd amalgam of the music of "The Terminator" and John Carpenter's "Dark star", and there's a definite atmosphere here makes it an enjoyable listen. It does require a certain frame of mind to be able to sit through the entire album though and, when you've found that headspace, it's quite sublime. That said, the drum sound is atrocious and ruins any segments that require the use of a snare. Bottom line, "Midnight laser warrior" is an average album that could do with a little less self-indulgence -- and a bearable drum sound. - John Norby
Check out a few tracks from Finnish cinematic/synth/"lastermetal" act Nightsatan: http://soundcloud.com/tom-25-1/03-karelian-starmaster-evil-lucifer
The trio's debut album "Midnight laser warrior" came out earlier this month via and was produced and mixed by renown Finn Jori
Hulkkonen. RIYL John Carpenter soundtracks, Goblin, etc.
Burning Hearts
Nightsatan
