Pekka Laine's previous LP The Enchanted Guitar of Pekka Laine is a can't-miss record. The thick layers of reverb and dreamy melodies make for one of the most engrossing listening experiences I've heard in (or at least very nearby to) this genre. The only real complaint I had was that there simply wasn't enough of it. And now there's more.
And "more" really is the key word here. Just looking at the back of the LP shows six musicians versus the previous three, some boasting 8+ instruments, and that's not counting six guest musicians. There are more songs (less ambient interludes), more instrumentation, more diversity here than on Enchanted Guitar. "Miami Beach" features vocoder and a bit of a synth solo. "Sorrow and Pain" is a vocal track! "Fumemos un Cigarillo" prominently features strings.
No, come back! I know these can be instant turn-offs for some surf fans, but this is absolutely, unmistakably a guitar record. Pekka's guitar takes on many different tones on this, dialed in beautifully each time to fit the song. These arrangements are dense -- pick any 10 seconds of this album at random and you'll find something that makes you think "ooh that's a nice touch". But this complexity is held together by clean, easy-to-follow guitar melodies, which are given time and space enough to breathe and work their way into your mind. No wankery, just scenery.
Admittedly though, these haven't worked their way into my mind quite like the previous record did. There's still time for that, of course, and so far the front-runners seem like "Lucifer Dreaming", "Fumemos en Cigarillo" and the vocal track "Sorrow and Pain". But whether or not this is a better record than Enchanted Guitar doesn't really bother me. It's good enough! It's transportive album from front to back, or even just those 10 seconds at a time.
Available on bandcamp, CD and vinyl. Take heed! Svart records has a separate website for US, UK and AUS. I got mine quickly and for a reasonable price!
