in Reviews

Between Nordic and Americana

"Logrén offers a pleasant surprise: an album with music well rooted in feeling, intelligently compiled and well built-up as a whole."

TUOMAS LOGRÉN

Yövesi

TLCD001

Guitar player Tuomas Logrén is no newcomer to the field, but this is the first time he’s gone solo. What to expect from a virtuoso player from top-notch bands like Frigg? Well, Logrén offers a pleasant surprise: an album with music well rooted in feeling, intelligently compiled and well built-up as a whole. Logrén plays a whole bunch of instruments himself, from guitar, dobro and mandolin to fiddle, percussion and harmonica.  

The tracks are quite different from each other but balance elegantly between traditional and new tunes as well as between Nordic and Americana – the two main genres Logrén works with. Here he combines them with good taste, surrounded mainly by musicians at home with both.

The vocal numbers are pleasant, each presenting a different singer. My favorite is Aili Järvelä, who has traditional folk music in her veins but still has a sound that approaches stadium pop. The line-ups are constantly changing. They include Matti Pitkänen, who gets to the core of it all with his Americana-folky fiddling style, and the grand old man of mandolin, Petri Hakala. The title track Yövesi with only Logrén and Hakala is one of the finest moments.

 

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