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Tuvalu: S/T
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Kool Thing (KOOL-002)
 Tuvalu is a seven-year-old Finnish modern prog band who released their third album in February. I have previously reviewed the band’s second album Viimeiset hetket ovat käsillä! that was released two years ago and was rather dark, cold, metallic and skillful, sci-fi spirited stuff. Now the band has tried to reach a bit warmer and rocking tones in the vein of King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator and others. The time signatures still change as rabidly as ever and the music is very technical and even difficult and there are a lot of effects in use. At time they blast away with pretty much full energy in the style of Mars Volta and the aural world still is modern and really varied and balanced. Instead of the robot revolutions at the edge of time the lyrics now dig deep into the various dimensions of humanity, but still in a rather surrealistic vein. The female singer Annina Antinranta’s voice stands out much more on this new album that also charted in Finland rapidly, since her natural vocal sound has been preserved and the vocals don’t have that much strange effects.
The album begins with the tight and energetic “Tulevaisuuden luurangot” that will go down well with all the prog metal fans I’m sure. The bit lighter “Parahin Nikula” includes a handsome chorus and also more psychedelic sounds. Next we’ve got a untitled, three-minute-long peaceful, instrumental ambient piece and then it’s time for the album’s long master piece, the 13-minute-long “Pimeys on ystävä” where the King Crimson influences are perhaps most apparent, although I’m also occasionally reminded of latter-day Porcupine Tree. This is anyway a fine track that has both hard rocking and emotional, soft atmospheres. “Tulvien jälkeen” is a slow, dark and small-scale track and “Fantasmagoria” an over 10-minute-long number that ponders what will happen to man after death. The track goes occasionally almost to doom metal and it’s partly very atmospheric and melancholic stuff. Towards the end they go a bit faster in the prog metal style. “Valkoinen sumu nousee” rocks tightly and fast but also includes some softer, a bit jazzy material. The album’s final track “Pakenevan veden voima” is a mostly instrumental piece that brings to mind the prog legends from the seventies again. The pretty short vocal part includes vocoder or some similar effect. The end is pretty wild going, but this still is one of the most approachable songs on the album. This really is a good track and one of the best moments on the CD.
In summary, Tuvalu is a very felicitous album of suitably challenging, inventive but elegant modern progressive rock that demands something from the listener but is also very rewarding. As a band Tuvalu is without a doubt one of the best prog groups in Finland and also worth checking out live.
www.tuvalu.ws |
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