Eldanka Music 2022
Southern winds from North hemisphere bring on instrumental spells to bind one’s board to the tides.
Joldanka Patrol
If surf rock has become fashionable in Finnish musical circles, there’s nothing surprising in it, given Scandinavians’ relationship with the sea, but this foursome take the drift a little further on their third album by riding a wave towards the Gulf of Mexico and pretending the warm waters are part of the Baltic. Considerably breezier than "Rusty Treasures" that saw the band return to the studio after an eight-year hiatus, “Joldanka Patrol” finds the quartet bask in the post-pandemic bliss and burst with fantastic – scorching as opposed to balmy – ideas which involve brass-less mariachi vibe the quartet unleash from the start. More so, throwing caution and simplicity to the wind and ushering in humor, the ensemble choose a couple of rather unexpected covers to spice up their strange brew of intoxicating potency.
Still, once the blistering, ear-splitting chords of opener “Descanso” have set the scene for imaginary western and offered vast panorama for the listener to admire – with Mika Jämsä’s six-string filigree and Rasmus Tammik’s tasty jangle rolling over the groove Mauri Haapamäki’s bass and Janne Torvikoski’s drums sculpt with a lot of elegance – it’s not so difficult to grasp ELDANKA’s approach to external material. Einojuhani Rautavaara would approve of their drenching of his classical piece “Cantus Arcticus” in ringing guitars and Edgar Froese of their reading of TANGERINE DREAM’s futuristic smash "Le Parc" – and the numbers’ renaming into, respectively, “L.A. Streethawk” and “The Bog” only enhance one’s focus on these tunes. No wonder, then, that the group’s own “Dance Of The Earworm” sweetens their creaky twang with exquisitely translucent arabesques, that the platter’s titular track pours folk motifs into their instrumental punch, or that the radiant rockabilly of “Cesium 137” is as infectious as the slow burn of “Country For Good Men” is ruminative.
And while the galloping “Outlander” is dynamically augmented by acoustic strum, “Necropolis Sidewalk” delves into a neon-lit horror atmosphere, and the finale “A Message From Alderaan” dissolves the vigor in the mellifluous melody which will caress the audience with tender loving care. That’s something rare nowadays – and previous.
*****
