I've been really feeling as though I'm in a rut with the music I've been listening to. I've mentioned it before, but between writing for The Ripple Effect and doing a weekly radio show devoted to metal, I listen to a LOT of music, mostly metal. And a lot of what I listen to is pretty generic, by the numbers kind of metal. I tend to like a wide variety of music as well. For whatever reason, I keep trying to listen to something different, but it all sounds the same lately. Until I stumbled across this little gem, that is.
Hopeajarvi are a band from Finland. They are most definitely not a metal band. All of their song titles and lyrics are in Finnish, so I have absolutely no idea what any of what I just listened to is all about. All I really know is that this music really speaks to me in the language of music, and I really, really dig this.
What do they sound like? Well, let's start with The Mars Volta, a band that I adore. Now imagine them doing everything, as I mentioned, in Finnish. Then drop a little bit of the chaos out of the music, no bizarro time signature changes or instrumentation. Make it a little more punky in terms of the song structures and lengths, with a dash of good old 80's new wave kind of feel. I think that is about as good as I can describe it for you. And it really hits the spot for me.
In terms of album length this really isn't much more than an EP. It is a debut effort, and a very good one at that. There are seven songs that all clock in around the 3 minute mark. Just good, concise song writing, well performed and sung. Definitely music, though, that is greater than the sum of its parts. To paraphrase the great Robert Plant, I don't know what it is that I like about this, but I like it a lot. I was going to say that it really grows on you, but I liked it immediately. How much I like it has certainly grown with repeated listening.
If you're in the mood for something a little different, check this band out. They have some good stuff going on and I hope there is more to come in the future. I will definitely be on the lookout for more.
- ODIN