4 out of 5

Label: VHF Records

Produced by: ?

I end up falling in with whichever given label because I end up trusting them. I trust that they – “they” being whoever curates the label’s roster – have a vision, and even when that vision doesn’t offer up something I necessarily love, I respect how it aligns with the output, and almost always find some appreciation for it. Some labels are more wide-ranging in their releases than others of course, with those erring on the narrower range making that will I / won’t I like it gamble… less-so.

VHF Records happens to be rather unique in that equation in that it’s an experimental label – which by nature makes it rather wide-ranging – but with a familiar cast of characters that helps me somewhat guess how something will sound.

But every now and then it’s totally left field, and I get the biggest smile on my face, which is in addition to a smile already in place, as I look forward to the majority of VHF’s stuff.

Swirling in Kemialliset Ystävät’s digital psychedelia, and grazed upon by Circle’s ambient / kraut leanings, Tomutonttu Ja Lehtisalo features Jan Anderzen of the former band and Jussi Lehtisalo of the latter, but even with that description and roster and the framing of VHF, that gives us very little grounding for how this pairing actually turned out, which is a more rightful heir to Einstürzende Neubauten’s album title of “Alien pop music.”

While it’s initially tempting to lean this towards Kemialliset’s weird wanderings, there’s a much greater emphasis on followable and catchy melodies, amped up with beats and electro sampled vocals, coasting the groove somewhere between Prekop-y Thrill Jockey pop, Polyphonic Spree bliss, and then dives into darkwave, like a Panos Cosmatos flick score, except maybe there’s actually a happy ending. There’s something delightfully off about the majority of the album, though, where the accessibility of it is curved ever so slightly, as buzzing noise or breaks in the rhythm take place. The drug trip is a good one, but it’s like you come out of the haze at points, and start operating with drive, before another wave hits and you just go with it for a bit, these feelings coalescing back into the happy-go-lucky vibe with which you started.

That sounds open-ended, but the further hook here is how composed the tracks feel, even when scratching their way towards whichever emerging rhythm. That said, there’s a point where things go slightly too far in that direction, in that sense that the album gets arguably too poppy and linear at a point – Hymy yössä’s Stereolab funk; Puistossa’s retro synth – where it broaches being an entirely different genre. Not a bad genre by any means, but things just start to get a little too straight-laced and clean. Thankfully, closer Luukku kahdeksan / Autere is the solution: it’s broken up and hesitant, correcting for getting a little too cocky and self-aware.

All in all, this is a “sum greater than…” situation for me, as the separate projects of our composers are interesting but not necessarily my bag. It apparently takes an inspired meeting of their methods on one of my most reliable labels to really open my ears to giving their other works a go, but firstly acknowledging how otherworldly – and surprising and great – this mashup is.