Voula

 

Layering tracks together in an epic mix isn’t a new idea in rock music, but when Vuola does it in his new record Alouv, it feels like a bit of a revolution inside of five unique songs. Alouv is complicated and eccentric at times, bringing together esoteric themes with broad rock conceptualism, like in the songs “Laugh Vivid Often Adore Unity” or the more brutish “Vapaa Uljas Onnen Lapsi Aaamun,” and without its intricately mixed sound, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate just how profound a quake Vuola can issue when he’s in top studio form. 

Everything begins and ends with the guitar parts in Alouv, and this is true of “Under Above Orion Venus Loves” as much as it is the more conventional “Astra Lucia Omnia Ultra Verum,” but I hesitate to call this a work of virtuosity. There aren't a lot of technical ecstasies to get lost in here, but at the same time, Vuola is using the tonality of the strings and the overdrive to create a backdrop that piano keys, winds, or any other instrumental componentry could have accounted for. In that sense, this is a guitar aficionado piece, but not one in love with its own shadow.

BANDCAMP: https://vuola.bandcamp.com/track/laugh-vivid-often-adore-unity

I think Vuola is going deliberately soft on the mic when he is singing in songs like “Laugh Vivid Often Adore Unity” as a means of highlighting the harmony more than his own words, but this does not reduce the value of the verses in this record at all. I would actually say it makes us pay a little more attention to their subtext, their greater contribution to the bigger narrative in this record, and even what they lend to our singer when he’s tunefully finding his center amidst all of the destruction in Alouv.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this record from beginning to end, it did leave me with more questions than I’ve got answers relating to Vuola. There’s still so much he can do with this sound, so many different passageways in the walls of this tracklist that could be explored and exploited more than they were in this setting, and if I had my way, his next project would be one that essentially serves as a sequel to this debut. Alouv is full of mysteries, but the greatest one just might be how to get some of its most haunting moments out of your head when it’s over.

Joshua Beach