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Do you like the whole Finnish manic stuff? The suomisaundshiznit? No, I’m not sure either. Some of it is wonderful, truly magnificent stuff that deviates and innovates and – occasionally – constipates with its sheer musical ballsiness and intricacy. And other times it sounds like postmodern wank, weird for its own sake, undanceable for its own sake, and barely listenable. Which of course is all part of the joke, that you either get or you don’t. Nice To Mute You is slinky, atmospheric stuff with a cinematic vibe, layered over jazzy patterns and the eponymous muted trumpet tucked away in there somewhere. Nuts For Nothing on the other hand is bogged-down, snotulent stuff that lumberingly builds up into noise. It sounds like EvsY are parodying how they used to sound – it’s a far cry from Round One and even Tarinat. Brain To Feet has some good moments, with awesome expanses of sound sitting in the stereo mix at times, but with this directionless pulp mushing about underneath your feet. Hell Sin Key THCruise (are you noticing a less sophisticated humour in the track titles too?) is more up with their older material. Swirling brass sections hover over a morphosonic bottomend and fight it out with snarling, angry lines. It’s still messy, and a bit pulpy, but the movement and spirit of their older stuff is still there. Somewhere. But then things start to get interesting, as the album takes on an oldskool feel. High On Heels is a cracking example of the boys in full outdoor forest party mode: this is the lysergic dance music that we fell in love with them for. Faster.Liver.Dancer has cutup high vocals that make it sound a little like Hallucinogen. The movement is steadfastly psychedelic, the pace is furious, and the spirit oldskool. Belter – and proof that they’ve still got it in them. Nolevco combines that spirit with an imagination-stretching topend line that just builds and builds and builds. There are more changes than a Kylie concert, and that epic finale might have you thinking you were listening to a rework of Shamanix. Right on. Kaliman Kavakat is back in that postmodern, how-trance-are-you-really headspace, as is Home Deep Home which is, despite some wonderful moments (such as the finale), largely self-indulgent noise. Finally, the delightful pisstake Sky Breaks is something of a godsend; pacey breakbeat mixes in with grande-classical stabs and scuzzy electro bottompit noises. In short, then, this is a disappointment. At best they sound like a cover-version of themselves, and at worst it sounds rushed. Skip this, and buy Round One again instead. 4
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