Greetings, Scan-Indians!
My infamous Scandinavian Pop Lecture CD might have gotten lost before it reached the second person on the chain. Kimmo's second Finnish tape chain might have died when what turned out to be this list's first CDR got smashed by the fine folks in the air mail department. BUT...Kimmo's first scan-indie Finnish cassette was a smashing success. In getting his own band signed. And quite logically, some years later, we have...
"Terminus" by Cessna
Two years in the making, "Terminus" could easily stand as Cessna's masterpiece. (If they still needed one). For their third Radio Khartoum outing, our Finnish pop ambassadors have finally put longtime keyboard companion Mikko Ojanen (of analog synth outfit Nu Science) behind the producer's desk. The resulting album expands considerably on the Cessna palette, but thanks to Mikko's warm production and exquisite editing (and, dare we say, the band's impeccable taste) what should be a bumpy ride of mad segues proves an intense and satisfying voyage: pop by way of the classic Scandinavian breeze, Os Mutantes and Gainsbourg, garage and psych by way of The Famous Boyfriend, The Monochrome Set, Velvet Underground, Section 25 and Can, laid back and spacious cowboy riffs as best exemplified by Cessna themselves, a gorgeous rainy-day synth and acoustic guitar number no one knows quite how to classify, and a haunting piano and feedback epilogue.
12 proper tracks plus a couple interludes. Digipack by Bügelfrei. Definitely worth the wait.
Currently available on the web via Poppolar, Twee Kitten, Melody Bar as well as the Radio Khartoum shop. In stores momentarily by way of Carrot Top Distribution, Darla and Trolley Bus (Japan). And if Kimmo or Sami are still lurking around here, maybe they'll mention where you can find it in the northern latitudes.
Regards,
Alexander
Radio Khartoum http://www.radiokhartoum.com
PS. Also out today on Radio Khartoum: "The Last Thing I Saw Before I Said Goodbye" by The Hepburns. Up next, debut album by The Cat Box Quartet (Copenhagen). Radio Khartoum, scan-indie subscriber, still going strong.