Inverse 2016
Chasing Rainbows
Hard-and-heavy hippie heroics from Helsinki hitting all the right buttons, and then some.
It’s not so vain a quest this Finnish trio set upon to fashion their first album’s title out of it, what with the band’s debut single featuring a former RAINBOW warbler, yet for all the influence on offer, the thrill of the chase is felt all over the platter. From the “shit happens all the time” dictum of the opening metal disco to the powerful flex of the “Fire In My Soul” finale, there’s a mighty, tight throb to cut to the listener’s heart thanks to Anssi Korkiakoski’s bass and guitar – delicately lacing the majestic court dance of “I’ll Never Let You Go” – and Rip Radioactive’s drums.
With Peter James Goodman’s comic-villain vocals taking the speedy likes of “Science Fiction” to their cinematic extreme, it’s funny as hell, one that the piano-rocked “Luck Is Blind” mentions in rather infectious terms, a hint at Bach anchoring it to other, higher place, while “Holy Mountain” is a gothic kind of blues. As epic as some pieces here are – none reaching a 5-minute mark, though – there’s not a dull, or self-indulgent moment, and that’s the very essence of the ensemble’s music quest. Pure pleasure.
*****
