I seem to be covering a good range of Finnish albums, so here’s a brief few words on another one, a lovely fluid release courtesy of Lake Huttula. The album is entitled ‘My Ptosis’.
Hiding behind the name is singer-songwriter Teemu Merilä, who to be honest was a new name to me, but previously had a solo project called ‘Lodger’, which expanded into a band and released a number of albums.
’My Ptosis’ took a number of years to complete, eventually with support from producer Jarkko Heiniö, along with Markku Reinikainen on drums and Andreas Unge on bass. He describes the album as a “tribute to favourite artists, both lyrically and musically”, and whilst I won’t name all those that it reminds me of, I’m hearing a variety of artists from 60’s through to the 80’s.
The result is an easy listening, natural sounding album, which benefits from the gentle melodies and in particular from the always interesting lyrical content. Opening track 'Huttula Lake' sets the scene, it's those lyrics and the meandering and very slightly leftfield instrumental section that gives the song character. 'Like Father Like Son' has a catchy chorus that seems to contradict the melancholy lyrics, whilst 'Berberis Vulgaris' reminds me a little of the story told in The Divine Comedy track 'A Lady of a Certain Age', all in a gentle waltz style with another stand-out instrumental contribution.
But the highlight for me is the effortless sounding 'What You Want', with another timeless tune and lyrics that capture the quandaries of life - "What the hell you want, because I sure don't know what I want?'
No musical revolution here, but I like this. Lake Huttula really takes his time with these tracks, soft, free-flowing songs that are never rushed, setting out tunes and stories with elegance and style, and with lovely instrumentals that add a real depth to the sound. Definitely worth a listen.
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