Ajattara - Noitumaa (2009)

When learning that Ajattara's new album was to be an acoustic piece, I was very much expecting a slew of tracks from older albums unplugged. That is not quite what has manifested through Noitumaa.

This is a strange album, and often a little too strange. Acoustics and light percussion form the foundation for the tracks, and over this the vocals are smothered like so much butter on rye bread. At best this becomes a festive affair, as in the raucous "Massat" and the swampy twang of "Kielletyn sanat". More often it's just strange and annoying, like the opening track "Keukhot" with all its vocal foolery, or "Ikuisen aamun Sara" with its death metal riff gone acoustic (which doesn't sound very good) lapsing into a mediocre folk rock tune. At times this album sounds like something Fantomas would do if they were Finnish and using a lot of acoustic guitars...

The album is not a total waste. It's probably on par with their last full-length, Kalmanto, but of course this isn't saying much, since that was a staggering disappointment. There is enough here though to make me wonder: if Ajattara tightened up the writing and vocals, they could probably produce a phenomenal album of unique folk. But Noitumaa feels slightly too experimental for its own health. A few of the tunes work, most do not, and I am left longing for Ajattara to return to those roots that made the first four albums so bloody good.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/ajattara