Paavoharju - Laulu Laakson Kukista
Why is singing so much more acceptable when it's done in a foreign language?

I realise that this question will make no sense to many people. But over years of listening to music, I've somehow nurtured a growing dislike of the vast majority of singing. Mostly it's the sound of the voices, but sometimes it's the words. The clumsy, trite and banal use of language is hardly a new phenomenon - I've been doing it myself for years - but it often does seem to be ever more widespread. So if I have a current preference, it's for singers who are, for whatever reason, entirely incomphrensible.

One such is Doklands favourite Joose Keskitalo, the Finnish avant-folk wunderkind. Here he is singing with the band Paavoharju on their track Laulu Laakson Kukista. There's something very special about Keskitalo's voice: he always sounds as if he's been recorded with ancient lo-fi equipment. That seems to be a recurring theme with Paavoharju as well: one of the other tracks from the Laulu Laakson Kukista EP gives the impression of being dubbed from a particularly ratty old cassette.

Anyway, this sounds great and has a top tune, because even I like tunes every now and then. And being in Finnish, I have no idea how daft the lyrics might be. Allegedly, it's something about flowers and valleys. I think we've just had a lucky escape.

Paavoharju - Laulu Laakson Kukista