Vainajan muotokuva

Album Review

Quirky, keyboard-led pop is perhaps even more of a worldwide currency than metal — turn around and there's a disc or web page from some new act that only wants to sweetly and snarkily bop the night away. Thus Finland's Eleanoora Rosenholm — a trio, not a solo act — who on their debut album take arguably overworked sources of inspiration (sixties bossa nova, early eighties breezy indie pop, the lingering impact of the C86 generation, any number of endlessly sweet Scandinavian acts in general) and gives it a bit of spiky kick. It helps that the album has a crisp, direct sound — singer Noora Tommila's voice has an in-your-ear quality, and in combination with the trebly twinkle of many of the songs' melodies it's an endless '60s-into-21st century dance party that doesn't sound like an artifact. There's plenty of immediately obvious comparison points, for sure — songs like "Japanilainen Puttarha" practically beg to have Isabelle Antena do a guest vocal turn, for instance — but as a starter effort it's a definite treat, and the deft, busy but precise drumming, especially on the percussion-and-vocal-led "Kodinrakennusohjeet," gives the band its own distinct stamp. But sometimes it can be as simple as Tommila's multi-tracked vocals on the break of "Kopiokissa," before one of the most elegant guitar solos around begins, or the chilled, percussionless flow of keyboards and textures that makes up most of the brief "Puutarhakatu 36."