Luomo - The Present Lover

"The Present Lover" for me represents something of a wake-up call for Force Tracks. Listening to the largely forgettable disco inspired output by the label at around the time of this album's release only further highlights just how great this album is. Although it represents a shift towards such a sound, the shift is not a particularly big one, and is pursued in a completely different manner, offering a far moodier, more expressive piece. At the very least, "The Present Lover" serves merely as another testament to Ripatti's incredible production abilities, with tracks like the title cut, "Body Speaking" and "What Good" clear standouts.

Though Vladislav Delay received heavy criticism for his second album, it still remains within the lineage of the first, although with much more emphasis on recognizeable song structures, and more prevalent vocals. The vocals in the Present Lover are no longer simply another instrument (as in Vocalcity), but are in fact used more traditionally--which is not to say it's a bad thing, but simply different from what took place on the first album. The production is high-quality indeed, but beyond that, it's refreshing to know that his Luomo guise won't sit in some reiterative rut. My choices include Body Speaking, Talk In Danger, and Shelter, though the whole work has grown on me after several listens.