Let me begin this review with the words I wrote last year while discussing another album (Ensio & Kusiset Tassut's "Valo Rakoilee Ikkunassa"): "(...) If by chance this album fell into your hands, it's a sign that it was meant to be. And I'm not talking about fate or destiny, but about the fact that you had to search for sounds so deeply rooted in the progressive music of the 1960s and 1970s that you could call it a musical archaeological discovery, about finding a lost album by an unknown composer that was recorded in those years. And if you are a so-called "random passerby" who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to listen to what the hero of today's review has to say about music, then it's possible that you will stay with this album for a long time."
Why so? There are several reasons. The simplest is that both bands—Ensjo & Kusiset Tassu and Featherfoot — are from Finland. The second is that their releases are a "modern monument," an "archaeological" phenomenon in a sea of modern sounds, a massive onslaught of various experimental and alternative releases on the one hand, and plain old musical trash on the other. The third is that I simply enjoy albums like these. They remind me that you don't always have to search for something new, something so specific that it's difficult to understand, that sometimes simply playing simple sounds is enough to capture the listener's complete attention.
I can't say whether the band's name—Featherfoot—refers to an Aboriginal sorcerer who uses special shoes to move silently and unnoticed, often to inflict spiritual punishment. Perhaps it was taken from the book "After Man: A Zoology of the Future," which features a fictional animal that spits out a frothy substance as a defense mechanism? Regardless of the origins of the band's name, their debut album is neither a punishment nor a defense mechanism. We don't need to defend ourselves against it. This album should simply be listened to, and listened to, and listened to. Five tracks, just thirty-five minutes of overwhelming peace that envelops the listener in a tight cordon of simple sounds. The band's members, Ville Repo (vocals, guitar), Janne Kuosmanen (guitar), Jani Viljakainen (bass), Joni Rantanen (drums), and Aleksi Raappana (drums), simply play as if they weren't trying to record some unique-sounding album, but simply jam. And that's exactly what they were. The band's origins date back to 2011, when Janne (guitar), Jani (bass), and Joni (drums) began playing together, only to disappear shortly after, fading into obscurity until 2020. And even then, there was no sign of a debut album. Work on it didn't begin until 2024, and the result was released on October 10th of this year.
The opening notes of "Powder Room" are six minutes of instrumental jamming "reprogrammed" into a composition that begins with a lazy and clumsy guitar, joined by the rhythm section. There's no rush, no unnecessary intensity. A simple guitar solo is framed by a rolling bass and quiet drums. The whole thing revolves around recurring musical motifs, sometimes speeding up, sometimes slowing down, thus building an atmosphere of slight nervousness, which is immediately "quelled" by calm, psychedelic-sounding solos. There's no rush. All you hear is complete surrender to this atmosphere.
In "Dissension," vocals join the unhurried instrumentals. This technique adds a touch of song-like character to the whole, and instead of instrumental jamming, we get a simple song that resonates with truly indie rock verve. The melodic chorus makes it compelling to listen to. But one thing remains unchanged: there's still no rush.
"Sonic Silk" takes a trip to the Middle East. Exotic guitars, strings, and an oriental, psychedelic atmosphere emerging from moment to moment, yet it treats the oriental elements merely as additions to enhance the track's distinct trance-like quality. Once again, we're dealing with a leisurely track combining the aforementioned oriental trance with guitar-driven psychedelia and whispered vocals. Simple guitar work is enough.
"Amplified Flowers" could become a #1 hit on radio stations focused on world music, indie-rock pop, or simply good, ballad-infused rock. No, there's no shortage of psychedelic spice, '60s sounds, and an addictive, trance-like rhythm. It's a total of eight and a half minutes of guaranteed listening pleasure.
The album concludes with "Flood." The rock-pop arrangement makes the final track sound like a carefree song with elements of typical reggae rhythms. Without losing its psychedelic trance quality, we get a melodic track that stands out slightly from the previous tracks, but maintains the tone of the entire album. It offers respite after minutes spent traveling through the unconventional world of Featherfoot's music.
Of course, this isn't a progressive album in everyday meaning of that word. These five tracks immerse us in a trance-psychedelic world of simple pleasure and the unhurried playing of "ordinary" music. Music without experimentation, simple, everyday music, yet simultaneously allowing for a mental journey into the realm of "ordinary" sounds. Simple sounds, simple pleasure, simple life... Yes, sometimes that's what's missing. Therefore, when discovering such releases, it's worth devoting a moment to them and allowing them to draw us into their world, because perhaps in this way we will find ourselves in a world we haven't visited before, a world we haven't known before, one we might enjoy enough to stay in for a while?
