Uusitalo – Karhunainen

The resurrection of Uusitalo six years after the classic "Vapaa Muurari" with "Tulenkantaja" may have confused and surprised many Ripatti watchers. Certainly there was little inkling that the beautifully emotive sound and soft textures of "Vapaa Muurari" would be largely replaced with punchier grooves more reminiscent of Luomo than Vladislav Delay. And while there were some good moments, "Tulenkantaja" still felt a little awkward and transitional, which possibly explains the relatively quick appearance of "Karhunainen". Perhaps over the course of one year, the listeners have gotten used to the idea of the new Uusitalo, or perhaps Ripatti has worked incredibly hard to cement his "new" direction. Either way, the results of "Karhunainen" at least feel spectacular, even though he isn't really trying anything new. The success is mainly found in Ripatti's newfound ability to construct much tighter and less rambling albums (which was really first seen on "Paper Tigers"), while the sound is like a more upfront version of that on "Tulenkantaja". Thusly, the standouts on the album are the trio of "Sikojen Juhla", "Karhunainen" and "Satumaa". These tracks feel something like a blend of various aspects of the Kompakt sound and "Tulenkantaja"; the schaffel of "Sikojen Juhla", the almost bubbly synths of "Karhunainen", the insistent groove of "Satumaa". Even the comparatively stiff "Nalkalaulu" seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to some of Jurgen Paape's contributions to "Total" over the years. All in all, the elevated energy and more concise feel of the album make it one of Ripatti's more compelling works, but it still falls short of being a classic.