The self titled debut album from the mysterious Puunhalaaja is released today (20th Nov.)
It could have been when weighing up the odds as to whether to start watching Game of Thrones or West Wing when the unexpected happened. A message through messenger of all things. “hey, I’ve been writing some songs…”. First impressions etc: Blown away. Puunhalaaja was known as a dabbler in guitar playing, experiments with pedals, but songs? Never heard any. Always a touchstone for sharing music together and such, Puunhalaaja always led me to fresh sounds and ideas. I have no idea where this music came from, but it connected. Pekka Streng and Pavement were just two things I felt Puunhalaaja had a kinship with, which may lead you to draw some conclusions. But that doesn’t do justice to the world Puunhalaaja has created on his self-titled debut. These songs endure and grow with lovely arrangements and strong personality.
Pick up the album from the following, selected digital outlets. A very Ltd vinyl pressing of Puunhalaaja will be available soon.
Puunhalaaja : Puunhalaaja (Soliti 047)
- Itunes/Apple Music
- Spotify
- Deezer
- Tidal
- Soliti Shop
- Amazon
- 7 digital
- HMV
- Musa 24
- Google Play
All songs Puunhalaaja. Played, recorded and mixed by Puunhalaaja. Mastered by Philip Granqvist. Artwork by Roope Alho.
Puunhalaaja in his own words: “Puunhalaaja on oikeastaan maunulalainen juttu, sillä ilman Maunulaa ja tiettyä possea ei voisi olla näitä biisejä. Albumi syntyi rakkaudesta ja kyllästymisestä jammailuun, ehkä pohjaksi uusille sessioille, kun musiikkia on niin vaikea muuten selittää.”
Some very good advance word on the album: Glue at Rosvot “The debut album by Puunhalaaja is a mystery, a beautiful one that is. The music brings a variety of sounds, bridging the folk tales of Pekka Streng with the fuzzy fantasies of Pavement…” EMMI KUUNTELEE “This kind of songwriting style reminds me of Bowie’s Hunky Dory -album era and I’m looking forward to hear the whole album.” Austin Town Hall “Musically, it’s a great piece of songwriting. The guitar has this intimate quality, and the vocals are really pleasant; I don’t even want to mention the nice symphonic touches that make me melt.” Soundi “Puunhalaajan folk-vaikutteisessa ilmaisussa analyyttisyys, arvoituksellisuus ja kotikutoisuus paiskaavat kättä orgaanisella ja kiehtovalla tavalla.” Rumba “Kitaraindiestä siis on kyse, mutta omalla erikoisella twistillä. Tarkkakorvaisempi voi löytää seasta jopa progen sävyjä.”
