Loinen - Loinen

Tracklist:-

1. Portto

2. Kuolemanselli

3. Tassa Talossa

4. Ruumishuone

5. Sekaisin

6. Jerusalem

7. Kumijeesus

8. Hyodyton Elain

I'm anxiously trying to recover a handful of e-mails that my Outlook account tried in vein to delete. While I figure out what the hell's going on, I've decided to keep the show on the road by revisiting some releases that I've missed out on or that have been nestled deep within my (digital) review pile. This slab of madcap Finnish noise is one such release. This self-titled effort was written by Loinen and released by Svart Records in 2014 and it the band's third full-length to date, in a career that currently spans 14 years and includes several EPs and splits (including one with Horse Latitudes). 

I’ve always been a big fan of Finnish extreme music as I’ve always found it to be unique and unlike anything else to be honest. The raw and stripped down sludge of Loinen is no exception and while the lyrics are in the band’s native tongue and I don’t speak Finnish, I can dig it. Portto is a minimal opener with drums, bass and primitive growls. While a lot of people associate sludge/doom with ten minute plus songs. Loinen steer away from that and say more in about 5 minutes than others say in lengthier hymns. Kuolemanselli is filled with a rawness that makes it essential listening for those isolated moments, where it’s just you and a glass of wine. As Tassa Talossa crawls onward, I catch myself imagining what it would be like to see these guys actually playing in a cave (I don’t mean any disrespectful way either). The use of traditional instruments during Ruumishuone makes the music on Loinen even more sorrowful. The B-side to Loinen begins with Sekaisin, a stop/start song with short fits of grinding percussion. The weird chant-like singing and Arabic samples make Jerusalem an even weirder proposition. Thankfully things return to some form of relative normality with Kumijeesus, except it’s just a bit faster now. I’m definitely starting to get a sense of Loinen’s anger towards religion. Closer Hyodyton Elain is where everything finally grinds to an eventual halt. From the A-side filled with minimal sludge to the B-side that explored the band’s more experimental psyche, it’s been a hell of a journey. Loinen is well worth your time if you’re into something a little more unnerving. 

You can here five songs from the record here:-

You can grab the LP (for not very much) from Svart Records here - http://svartrecords.com/shoppe/loinen-lp.html. It's definitely worth a punt at that price!

Loinen Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/loinenband
Svart Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/svartrecords