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Kosmos (Finland) Salattu Maailma (Vinyl LP) Review by Gary Hill I’ve reviewed this CD in this very same issue of Music Street Journal. So, for the sake of consistency, most of this review is directly copied from that one. I’m going to address just the vinyl here and how it differs. Many albums show a large difference in sound from vinyl to CD. With this one it’s more subtle. This feels warmer and more organic. I’d have to say that for the sound of this band, I think that works better. In other words, I’d highly recommend the vinyl version. What follows here is the review of the CD, but with the side notations for the tracks. The blend of sounds on this album works really well. It’s got plenty of pure progressive rock. There all also a lot of folk elements at play. Space rock is present, too. The whole thing just seems to flow really well. It’s a lush musical experience. The lyrics are all in Finnish, I think (this is a band from Finland). The thing is, not understanding what’s being sung doesn’t seem to diminish the experience. This is a great melodic progressive rock set. It leans toward the mellow side. It does rock out at times, though. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Side A

Salattu Maailma Synthesizer and acoustic guitar open this and create a feeling of something that The Moody Blues might do. It gets layers of sound added to the mix, creating a more powerful and lush sound. After a time it drops to just acoustic guitar. Then some lines of melody emerge over that. The vocals join from there. Those vocals are female and gentle. As the vocals rise up to a more full performance, the arrangement gets an infusion of power, too. It has a real 1960s folk rock meets Renaissance vibe there. The cut continues to evolve, though, getting mellower again, but also quite lush. It works to some synthesized space music with spoken vocals over the top. That acoustic guitar rises back out and takes the cut back into familiar territory. The vocals return and the piece continues to grow in ways that are in keeping with classic progressive rock.

Simpukka The sounds of the sea open things here and acoustic guitar joins and begins to build. The vocals are delicate as they come across. This ballad is much mellower than the opening piece. It’s also more organic. It’s quite a pretty prog ballad. As much as I liked the opener, I might like this even more. The flute adds a lot to this piece.

Loitsu Although it’s still based on melodic guitar, this is more of a rocker than the previous two songs were. It’s very much a bouncy folk rock number. The violin later almost brings a touch of country. Still, even with all those influences, this is progressive rock more than anything else.

Peili The acoustic guitar playing on this is both intricate and very pretty. The vocals are quite gentle. This is another song with a lot of folk music built into it. It’s another that’s quite mellow. Again, flute provides some icing on this cake.


Side B

Tuuli The sound of the wind opens this and the keyboards that enter make me think of Hall of the Mountain Grill era Hawkwind. This evolves very slowly and that type of space rock vibe seems to permeate it. It gets more textural and less spacey as the vocals enter. This is quite slow moving, gentle and mellow for more than two minutes. Then a strummed acoustic guitar brings more of a folk rock energy to the piece. The tune keeps building and I love the violin that solos across it later.

Lini The sounds of a war (air raid sirens and explosions) start things here. Bit of atmosphere and some sounds that feel back-tracked are heard as acoustic guitar starts tentatively. This grows out very gradually much like space rock. Spoken vocals are heard. Then the cut gets suitably dreamy as atmospheric elements built upward. This really does sound a lot like Hawkwind in many ways. There are more spoken vocals as this grows. It really does change very slowly and is definitely melodic space rock.

Takaisin virtaan Sitar and drumming are heard at the start of this, bringing a real “hippie” vibe to it. It works out to more of the folk rock stylings heard earlier in the disc. It builds nicely and some world vocals are heard later along with the return of the sitar.

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