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Värttinä - Miero / World Music Review
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The opening track of Miero explodes from the speakers with the force of an arctic blast. Singers Mari Kaasinen, Susan Aho, and Johanna Virtanen spit out the words of "Riena/Anathema" with intense, laser-like harmonies. "I throw off sparks/I tear from my tongue words as twisted as tree roots," they sing. These lyrics ride a lighting bolt of buzzy bouzouki and throbbing drums and rip open this collection of tightly wrought songs. The themes reflect the darkest manifestations of the Norse psyche. Blood and betrayal, wrath and rage, are the order of the day.
The women's voices command the listener's attention, blending and clashing with harmonies as close as two fingers. Partnered (accompanied is too weak a word) by the rest of the band, which consists of accordion, bouzouki, fiddles, bass, and guitar, their sound is rich and complex. Though the subject matter is as dark as it comes, Varttina's Miero is not a difficult listen. The fits of rage are tempered by moments of pure sweetness that offer the promise of a clear pool in the murky woods. The closing track, "Vaiten Valvoin/I Lay Awake" is the perfect bookend for the CD. A love song, it speaks of forgiveness and redemption, with warm harmonies, gently plucked strings and sensuous soprano sax. Though it's not without its underlay of regret and despair, it lifts us out of the deep pit of the fury-filled beginning. "...I hide suffering hands as the light brightens/close tearless eyes as it brightens, slowly." In their musical and lyrical wisdom, Värttinä knows that there can be no light without darkness. - Peggy Latkovich (RootsWorld world music review)
CD available from cdRoots
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