HARDWARES

Love these Finns live, as few are better at getting a festival crowd going. In keeping with past trends, no surprise that there are only two English titles within the dozen tracks: ‘Vodka’ and ‘Bring Us Pints Of Beer’. Can you say beverage-obsessed? After a self-deprecating opener, ‘Vodka’ ("You’re feeling stronger, now you’re feeling bad. Your eyes are shiny, you’re a real man. Wash away your tears, removes your fears. You will feel awesome!") kicks the party in high gear, things go a bit south. All too often the happy-go-lucky humppa vibe of yore has been replaced by a slower, melancholic pace. Do you want happy drunks or sullen ones? Sure know which camp I’m hanging with, and Karkelo is firmly entrenched in the pensive latter half. A grinding ‘Huppiaan Aarre’ has the metal quotient overriding the fiddle/accordion hootenanny, but the guitar heavy ’Kultanianen’’ keeps the right balance. Nice use of acoustic guitar to close out ‘Mettanpeiton Valtiaalle’, while ‘Juodaan Viinaa’ comes off as something of an Alestorm outtake, while the more pedestrian numbers recall Tyr. Odd, since they’ve toured with both, but were always the stronger, in terms of originality. Karkelo is their sixth release under the Korpiklaani banner in seven years, each sporting a minimum of 11 songs. Apparently a little more judicious planning/editing was needed this time around.