Luomo - Paper Tigers

Luomo, the housier side of Vladislav Delay, comes back for a third round with _Paper Tigers_, and even though he steers away from the 80s pop of _The Present Lover_, he doesn’t totally abandon it either. The title track starts off on a spacey, glitch-dub tip. The house is deeper, although not quite as deep as on _Vocalcity_. “The Tease is Over” comes on like a torch song, while “Cowgirls” has a light, spry touch to it. But more than anything, I’d disappointed by the blandness of this album. It had none of the depths of emotion of _Vocalcity_ or even the cheesy fun of _The Present Lover_. Indeed, it just feels a bit empty. Fine to listen to, but empty nonetheless.

Luomo continues to impress. Paper Tigers is even sexier than The Present Lover, but not quite as accessible. While Paper Tigers is a tightly controlled affair, but there are always hints of that Chain Reaction sound. The seemingly random rhythmic effects and gentle reverb that ebb in and out of the songs give the songs give a a sense of space. Songs like Wanna Tell and Cowgirls stretch across the dancefloor like fog on the Coast of Finland. There 's sex, but also a warm intimacy on the more ambient tracks, that sound like Luomo is trying to give you a hug. Overall, Wanna Tell, Good To Be With, and Really Don't Mind are the definite standouts for me.

I think Track 4 says it the best: the tease is over. Luomo's third album plays out much like "The Present Lover", however, the elements are all superified on "Paper Tigers". The ambience is more resonating, the pop feel to the tracks almost omnipresent, live instrumentation employed more frequently and to greater effect than previously, and most noticeably, the lyrics are much sexier both in content and delivery. Many of the tracks here have quite a latin vibe about them, which feels kind of wrong on first listen, but totally works. However, what may seem like a rush to the mainstream is not necessarily so. The beats and structures of "Paper Tigers" are almost analogous to on "Tulenkantaja", giving them are marked edge over anything potentially similar. Unlike the previous two Luomo albums, there are no tracks here that really unquestionably stand out as they are all at a near equal level of excellence. All in all, "Paper Tigers" is a truly remarkable work which brings microhouse and pop ever closer together, but one gets the feeling of impending underappreciation - don't let it happen.