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Höyry-Kone - Huono Parturi

Artist:	Höyry-Kone
Title:	Huono Parturi
Label:	Ad Perpetuam Memoriam APM 9720 AT
Length(s):	49 minutes
Year(s) of release:	1997
Month of review:	11/1998

Line up

Topi Lehtipuu - vocals, violin
Jarno Sarkula - basses, flute, backing vocals
Jussi Kärkkäinen - guitars
Tuomas Hänninen - guitars
Teemu Hänninen - drums
Marko Manninen - cello

Tracks

1)	Beata Viscera	6.53
2)	Terva-Antti Ku Häihin Lähti	4.02 tar-Antti went to a wedding
3)	Karhunkaato	4.21 they killed the bear
4)	Lumisaha	4.39 snowsaw
5)	Baksteri	1.57 ?
6)	Huono Parturi	4.52 bad haircut/the Bad Barber
7)	Ullakon Lelut	2.19 toys in the attic
8)	Tottele	2.39 do as I say
9)	Kala	5.11 fish
10)	Laahustaja	6.21 the shuffler
11)	Laina-Ajalla	5.27 living in a borrowed time

Summary

It took some time for this disc to find its way to me, but finally it arrived and it has been worth the wait. Translations are approximate and I thank Tero and Marjo for them. Anekdotens Peter Nordins drums along on two tracks on this album.

The music

All tracks on the album are of the hand of the band, except for the first track, Beata Viscera, which was written by the French composer Perotinus (according to some the first modern composer, living somewhere around 1150-1200), beautifully sung by Topi Lehtipuu and in some way the band has succeeded in giving the song an Indian atmosphere, since it is not just vocals, as in Gregorian chants, but some music is added in the background. After this ephemeral music we take a turn of 90 degrees as we move into the speedy and pumping Terva-Antti Ku Häihin Lähti that contains both the distorted guitars of King Crimson (like their friends from Anekdoten), but also quite a lot of violin and cello to make the sound of HK more avant-garde sounding, but the music, although weird, is not abstract in any way, just very good. King Crimson is also present in Karhunkaato, with melodies on the violin, rhythm guitar and stately but odd vocals. The music sounds like the hunters party plodding through the vegetation. The vocals of Topi are quite low on this track and sound almost like a parody on classical vocals. The music reminds me also of what I would Finnish or Russian folk music would be like. I'm not sure why since I know nothing of this music. Probably also the choirs of cosacks or whatever singing "haaa" during this track. The guitar by the way has a definite sliding sound to it, you know, like Chris Isaaks music, which is certainly not something you expect here. We continu with the percussive weirdness of Lumisaha. The middle part is very intense with repetitive guitars and whispered vocals. After all the "heaviness" of the previous songs, Baksteri is something entirely different, consisting solely of windinstruments. The mood of the song is quite a happy one with some fluttering saxophones. All of the music on this rather short track is played by three people not in the band at all. The title track is a vocal one. The songs has a touch of frivolity. One of the nice things of the cello is that the sound is very dark and somber if played in a very slow way. This is used well during Ullakon Lelut and we surely mustn't forget here the somehow very moody melody on the keyboards. Tottele is as heavy as they're gonna get with grunt vocals, a killer bass and a powerful riff on the guitar, but this shows only the variety in this band since they move into something jazzy/later KC quite easily. Kala is a tracks that sounds quite longingly with lots of ahhhhs and such and some ascending chords throughout. Laahustaja is the penultimate one. Easily one of the best songs on the album, it sounds majestic with great interplay between flute and guitar and a moody violin in between passages. The theme is grand. The closer Laina-Ajalla is much more disjointed, but again the vocal melody is one to cuddle close and the singer really lets go at the end.

Conclusion

An album to absolutely love to death when you're into it. So, and quite right you are, you ask when am I into this. Well, if you need a short categorization, I'd say: King Crimson with classical and avantgarde leanings and instrumentation with a dose of wackiness sums it up. Fortunately, the guys keep it melodic at all times and do not become too abstract. The vocals are in Finnish, so you might have to get used to this. I have no problems here and since the singing is very good I guess nobody should have.