Tekstu TV-666 - Aidettu Tulevaisuus

by Adrian Janes

published: 3 / 11 / 2018

Label: Svart Records
Format: CD

Debut from Finnish six-piece rock band Teksti-TV 666 which is a more than promising start

Review

We know about their phones and their superior educational system, but It’s not often that the chance comes along to hear rock from Finland. ‘Aidattu Tulevaissus’ (which translates as ‘Fenced Future’ or possibly 'Fenced in'), suggests that, as with their Nordic neighbours, music is made there that there’s no reason shouldn’t appeal more widely as long as it’s exposed. Not waiting to speed up from 0 to 60, ‘Turbo Mondeo’ immediately hurtles you forward like a passenger in the hands of an expert driver, fuelled by a blend of high octane guitars that evokes Wray or a punky God Speed You! Black Emperor. Despite the potential overkill of Teksti-TV 666’s four guitars there is in fact an exciting intensity to their dense sound: if it’s a wall, it’s one built by skilful masons who don’t get in each other’s way. The title track is another song of near unremitting energy, the vocal sounding something like a Mick Jones-led Clash song in its rough-hewn pop punkiness. Musically, there are moments of Jesus and Mary Chain power, crossed with heavy metal chords. As if to confirm the band’s uninhibited mix of various influences, ‘Rauhankone’ (‘Peace Machine’) begins with a sludgy metal feel and tom tom rolls like the portentous intro to a prog track, before morphing into a moderate-paced Krautrock number carried along by catchy singing and deep throbbing bass. At the dramatic climax, layers of sustained guitar and crazed drumming raise it to another level again. Pounding guitars and drums open ‘Serverny’, but it’s also a song with more space in it than is granted elsewhere in much of the album, allowing room for some fairly poppy group vocals and a mellow reverbed guitar line. ‘Katko’, a title which can suggest either an interruption (e.g. in TV transmission) or a stint in rehab, is played with great zest, and it’s also a chance to better hear the interaction of the guitars. Yet it’s somewhat directionless too, like an extended version of a passage in a Sonic Youth song, albeit one that builds to a satisfyingly wild conclusion. No lyric sheet is provided, but it sounds like Teksti-TV 666 stick to singing in Finnish. Recognisable feelings still come across though, and at least the listener has the opportunity to use the kind of creativity that goes into misheard lyric websites. Little-known as yet outside their native country, this is a band and an album that deserve to drive straight through the fences of frontiers, into the future. Thanks to Outi Jokiharju for invaluable assistance with translations to this review.