Kauan
Aava tuulen maa

Metal can offer great surprises to those who listen with an open mind. This is precisely the case with this little surprise released two years ago by the Italian Avantgarde. Trying to gather information on this little-known band (an endeavor anything but simple), we discover that, despite the Finnish moniker, they come from... Big surprise! They come from Russia! Exactly, after the Mechanical Poet from the land of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky comes another musical offering, also very, very fascinating. An offering born from the mind of Anton Belov (guitars, vocals, and various synthesizers) accompanied by the violin of Ljubov Mušinkova. The group's headquarters is in the city of Chelyabinsk, which one might suspect is close to the Russian-Finnish border.

But no! The city is indeed close to the Russian border, but that of the Urals, with Kazakhstan. And so the linguistic choice of our subjects remains shrouded in mystery. Could it be that Finnish fits better than Russian with the musical offering of the duo? Very likely. Yes, because, yet another surprise, despite being under contract with a label that deals with metal, and quite a grim one at that, the artists bring to our ears fragile and delicate music. It is bucolic post-rock with ambient and folk influences, music as cold as ice that warms the heart, music to listen to when the winter mists give way to the uncertain morning sun, music that truly seems to spring from the land of a thousand lakes. If one must look for comparisons with other bands, the very early Giardini di Mirò or Mokadelic come to mind, though enhanced with a massive electronic section and more sporadic acoustic guitar arpeggios. Post-rock is often thought of as sparse music, yet the offering of Kauan is very rich.

It is difficult to describe the music of these artists, given the apparent simplicity with which it slips, timid yet relentless, into your ears. It's challenging to isolate the best episode of the album, an even amalgam that in fifty minutes presents us with five pearls, each better than the last. The album opens with the excellent Ommeltu Polku, instrumental and hypnotic, followed by the wonderful Valveuni: it seems to pass in a few minutes when it actually lasts ten, supported by fragile guitars and Finnish vocals that finally make their first appearance on the album. It continues with Fohn, soft, with drawling guitars and enveloping keyboards, while Sokea Sisar highlights the band's metal roots with a martial and majestic pace that gradually gives way to the concluding, melancholic, Neulana Hetkessa. Five wonderfully constructed tracks, very well played and produced, Aava Tuulen Maa is an album that captivates upon first listening and remains firmly in the listener's mind for a very, very long time.

Make it yours

9.0

1 Ommeltu Polka 4.58

2 Valveuni 10.39

3 Fohn 10.14

4 Sokea Sisar 12.35

5 Neulana Hetkessa 10.19