Between general lazyness and the fact that I switched from a Windows system to a Mac (and you all know what that implies), I'm forgiven for being late. Very late in fact! I got this CD back in March 2015 and it's been on my desk ever since, being played on the small stereo system I have at my computer working place at home.
There's some Jolly Roger in my collection, but what caught my ear with this release was the fact how Rockabilly the album is. Modern/classic Rockabilly, not the watered down version you hear nowadays every now and then and yet, not the barely dusted off stuff from yesteryear either (not that I have anything to say against a good 50's Rockabilly platter - in this case, a CD). And Tuomas is right about the sound, excellent. Not polished to death and then some, just excellent recording with a clean and crisp soud.
What do you get here? 12 original tracks and they're all keepers! And for the romantics out there, there's a ballad to be found here as well. While I write this, "For Now And Never Again" has just started and this is the one ... usually it's either Rockabilly or bust, but this is good enought to make the cut. Strange, the track makes me go and fetch a Port Charlotte Cask Strength Single Cask Malt Whisky. Bear with me, I'm back in a minute!
62.7 % of peat and smoke makes a grown man cry (of joy and happiness). In general, this disc goes for a very entertaining 36+ minutes of your valuable time and I can't single out certain tracks. Tuomas, who's not with the band anymore, has nevertheless taken the mike on three songs. However, not to prefer any singer over the other, K.T., Ande and Tuomas do their part on their respective tracks and this is very competent singing. In ancient times, K.T. Kotila was with Jolly B Good, hence maybe the wordplay. And another former member of the latter makes an appearance here, although "only" in the form of the song "Shame What You Do", where Teppo Nättilä has a composing co-credit.
If you're even remotely interested in today's Rockabilly scene and if you think, some of the best Rock music comes straight out of Finland, then this here is for you. I can tell you one thing though, the CD is not going to show up in your local record shop (if you live outside Finland, that is). Try your luck with ande.niem@gmail.com (this is the address that's printed in the booklet). I suppose you can work something out.
I'll follow this up with a more detailed review on my website. But at the rate I'm going right now, don't expect anything before 2016. In the meantime, I'll keep this slab of plastic ready to pop into the CD player whenever the urge hits me.
Cheers
Devon
