I’d like to begin by pointing out that, I’m not bilingual…hell, I’m barely lingual! English is awkward enough and I’m born and bred in the UK! SO when faced with an artist or band that, sings / performs using their native language, well it’s safe to say that I have about as much a grasp of the songs as say, the Conservative party understand…well…human beings. Lyrical content and storytelling goes out the window quicker than Bam Margera during the opening of Jackass Number Two, so all I’m really left with is purely musical interpretation; mood, atmosphere, feelings…and the blind hope that Google translator doesn’t fuck me over for the song titles at the very least. With that in mind, let me introduce you to HAPPORADIO…formed in Helsinki, Finland back in 2001, the band have had steadily growing success in their home country and are looking to continue their journey with new album “Kauniin Kääntöpiiri”…roughly translated as “The Beautiful Turnaround”, let’s see what’s gotten these Finn’s spinning…
The album opens up with “Valopallo” (“Ball Of Light”) and we’re greeted with a classic rock style of sorts; the percussion and guitar tone is for the most part generic and straight forward, simplistic riffs but backed by an incredibly melodic chorus, coupled with the use of the talk box, the whole thing has shades of BON JOVI dotted throughout and it’s an enjoyable up-beat track, a good start. The same can be said for further album tracks such as “Älä Puhu Huomisesta” (“Don’t Talk About Tomorrow”) with it’s incredibly infections, almost disco-inspired retro tone…the soft synths, the sweet pop hooks, in ways reminiscent of DAFT PUNK’s smash hit “Get Lucky” in its overall feel musically; its bright and incredibly relaxed, living in the moment, while “Mies Vailla Huomista” ("Man Without A Nightmare”) retains a similar approach albeit more focused on the light pop-rock aspects…focused on discarding fears and negativity, the chorus is sickly sweet and as to a degree this sounds like it could pass for a really good Eurovision entry…and I mean that in the utmost complimentary way; it’s really quite infectious and they all provide album highlights.
Some of the tracks here however are less inspiring shall we say…”Ihan Hyvät Ihmiset” (“Always Good People”) is a more restrained offering vocally…while the chorus is undoubtedly passionate and the track has a good rhythm, for the most part, vocally it’s almost spoken word content courtesy of front-man Aki Tykki…there is a semi-climatic flurry and in ways it comes across as late 90’s indie…while “Leevin laulu” (“Leevi’s Song”), at just over two minutes in length can’t decide whether it’s a quaint ballad or an interlude before finally we close the record on “Pidä Pinnalla Pää” (“Keep Your Head Above The Surface”)…a wonderfully melancholic piano driven piece…it’s rich in emotion and sonically it’s dramatic…the ideology of holding your head up high, stay afloat, have hope and stay strong in difficult times, it’s gently encouraging and positive despite its somber tone and ends the album beautifully. While it’s understandable that many would look at this and give it a miss purely because it’s all in another language, obviously we like to be able to understand what the singer is saying and it’s not something you can easily invest in sometimes, we have to remember the huge popularity of artists like RAMMSTEIN and BABYMETAL…granted German and Japanese as languages are more prominent culturally, here in the UK at least, but we can’t and shouldn’t overlook the music…a succession of number one albums in Finland highlights Happoradio’s clear talent for writing these infectious songs and they deserve a chance to flow through your speakers too. Nosta radiota ja paina soitinta! [7]
The album opens up with “Valopallo” (“Ball Of Light”) and we’re greeted with a classic rock style of sorts; the percussion and guitar tone is for the most part generic and straight forward, simplistic riffs but backed by an incredibly melodic chorus, coupled with the use of the talk box, the whole thing has shades of BON JOVI dotted throughout and it’s an enjoyable up-beat track, a good start. The same can be said for further album tracks such as “Älä Puhu Huomisesta” (“Don’t Talk About Tomorrow”) with it’s incredibly infections, almost disco-inspired retro tone…the soft synths, the sweet pop hooks, in ways reminiscent of DAFT PUNK’s smash hit “Get Lucky” in its overall feel musically; its bright and incredibly relaxed, living in the moment, while “Mies Vailla Huomista” ("Man Without A Nightmare”) retains a similar approach albeit more focused on the light pop-rock aspects…focused on discarding fears and negativity, the chorus is sickly sweet and as to a degree this sounds like it could pass for a really good Eurovision entry…and I mean that in the utmost complimentary way; it’s really quite infectious and they all provide album highlights.
Some of the tracks here however are less inspiring shall we say…”Ihan Hyvät Ihmiset” (“Always Good People”) is a more restrained offering vocally…while the chorus is undoubtedly passionate and the track has a good rhythm, for the most part, vocally it’s almost spoken word content courtesy of front-man Aki Tykki…there is a semi-climatic flurry and in ways it comes across as late 90’s indie…while “Leevin laulu” (“Leevi’s Song”), at just over two minutes in length can’t decide whether it’s a quaint ballad or an interlude before finally we close the record on “Pidä Pinnalla Pää” (“Keep Your Head Above The Surface”)…a wonderfully melancholic piano driven piece…it’s rich in emotion and sonically it’s dramatic…the ideology of holding your head up high, stay afloat, have hope and stay strong in difficult times, it’s gently encouraging and positive despite its somber tone and ends the album beautifully. While it’s understandable that many would look at this and give it a miss purely because it’s all in another language, obviously we like to be able to understand what the singer is saying and it’s not something you can easily invest in sometimes, we have to remember the huge popularity of artists like RAMMSTEIN and BABYMETAL…granted German and Japanese as languages are more prominent culturally, here in the UK at least, but we can’t and shouldn’t overlook the music…a succession of number one albums in Finland highlights Happoradio’s clear talent for writing these infectious songs and they deserve a chance to flow through your speakers too. Nosta radiota ja paina soitinta! [7]
RSS Feed