I’ve listened to this album once and quite honestly, once is more than enough to get an accurate picture of Orpokotijuhlat Saarella. I think it’s fair to say that I am not this album’s target audience, as it’s safe to say this is not an album I plan on revisiting, but I don’t like the thought of having wasted my time by listening to this album…so here we go!
I was first drawn to the album after reading this description from Ainala, on the subject of the moods of the album:
“I removed one of the floorboards in the lobby, and underneath it was a mummifed cat, whose belly was cut open and tied shut with a shoestring. Next to the animal, there were eggs placed in formation and a broom made of birches. In the attic, there are pieces of human skulls I’ve found, pieces of Holy Bread, the Bible, and a crucifix fragment, which I once found in the cemetery of Montmartre.”
It’s perhaps safe to say that the album does live up to that rather mysteriously dark (and somewhat head-scratching!) description, but that’s not exactly a good thing. Ambient/drone music is designed to be repetitive and have reoccuring sequences cropping up in the piece, usually over the space of several tracks, but it doesn’t really feel like there’s any structure with Orpokotijuhlat Saarella, instead just playing more as a collection of background sounds for the most part – however, the echoing choral sections are a nice touch, as they inject some much-needed melody into the piece, but that’s all that really stands out about the ten tracks on the album – albeit only very slightly.
Orpokotijuhlat Saarella could perhaps serve as background music if you want something just to stick on so you’re not sat in complete silence but honestly, this rather baffling collection of songs will not be everyone’s cup of tea to say the least.
2/10
