Rajatila/Borderline

The Finnish a capella quartet Tuuletar made quite an impression with their first album Tules Maas Vedes Taivaal in 2016 and stunning live performances around the world, including at the Songlines Encounters Festival and WOMAD in 2018. So the follow-up album was always going to be a challenge. They've gone for something much darker and more epic. The meaning of the poetry is dense. The opening ‘Tulen Surma’ (Death of Fire) is in Kalevala metre and seems like some spectacular forging from Finnish mythology, rendered by a long crescendo of breathing, chanting and one stratospheric voice. The following ‘Hälytystila’ (Panic Stricken) is more lyrical, opening with the sound of Pekko Käppi's bowed jouhikko. Unsurprisingly, there's an underlying sense of anxieÑ throughout.

Alongside the jouhikko, there are a few other snippets of accordion and drum, but of course, the main instruments are the four female voices that sing, whisper and chant, as well as the beat-boxing of Venla Ilona Blom. ‘Aika Tappaa’ (Time Kills) is pretty cinematic in sound, there's a moment of calm with ‘A Mintäh’ (What For), and heavy beats on ‘Valtaaja’ (Invader). It's a less inviting world than their debut, but certainly deeper.