Album of the month : September 2001
SPECIES ( FIN ) : "Heyday Soup"
( Johanna Kustannus )
At a time when everybody makes a well-founded fuss about Finland's great FLAMING SIDEBURNS, it would be fair to pay also some attention to their fellow countrymen and rockers-in-arms SPECIES. Released earlier this year to the sound of one-man clapping, " Heyday soup", their first album, deserves a much warmer reception.
SPECIES has got one simple but essential quality that makes them different from the average rock crew: their songs are better !! These guys know the value of a bridge, the impact of a sudden acceleration, the virtues of well-found gimmicks and unexpected interludes. The irresistible first single from the album, Sweetboy is litterally three different songs mixed into one: there's a tinkling musical-box intro, a scorching soul-rock chorus, a cheeralong Gary Glitter stomp enhanced with some kind of spicey Wilko Johnson riffs, and... a bridge ( yes, a bridge !) which sounds like a jam session between THE WHO and Colonel Kurtz himself ! What you get here is almost the definitive Rock n' roll story in less than 3'30" !
Outsider, the second single, is equally impressive. The first seconds are truly flabbergasting: It's like a whole fire-squad passing by you door with sirens on. Then comes the chorus. Any song with a chorus that goes " Yeah, Yeah !" can't be bad in my opinion. This one does it eight (8) times in a row. Who can match that ?
The album's opening track Ram It Up revives the vintage riffs of early KINKS/ PRETTY THINGS garage anthems while To Be True shows the band's poppy side ( notwithstanding another devastating chorus). In contrast, Rippin' , a real punk killer, runs along at full throttle like the DAMNED on 78 rpm. In the same frantic vein, Take It Or Leave It goes at breakneck speed before smashing the security rail in a shower of sparks. The stone-ish Hitch-Hiker sounds almost polished in comparison, as does the obligatory slow ( not that slow actually...) number Not Good For Me ( that's clear !). Want more ? Well, there's also an epic 7'30" finale called Satellite ( the only song here that could reveal the origin of the band with its WALTARI-like vocal harmonies ) and finally Live to tell, a third rawk n' roll gem which completes the brilliant trilogy opened with Sweetboy and Outsider.
Great songs, good singer, stylistic variety, sheer energy, a pair of brutally incisive guitars, a flawless rhythm section and a dynamic production: it is all there and you can't help but wondering why SPECIES didn't get much more recognition until now. It's still time to make things change... Hear the music and spread the word.
JOHANNA KUSTANNUS:
http://www.johannakustannus.fi
Mailto:siru.koivukangas@johannakustannus.fi
Management: CONCURRS VILLAGE OY
Gigs: ROCKTOPS OY
Mailto:mika.jarvinen@rocktops.fi
