Back in 2008 Finnish quartet Kiki Pau released their full length debut, ‘Let’s Rock’, following a trilogy of self-released EPs and now they have got the followup, ‘White Mountain’, out. The Anglo-American musical heritage is still an important part of their output and this time they expand on their expression. As singer/guitarist Henrik Domingo says in this interview with Glue.fi: “With this second record we realized that we can do pretty much whatever we want musically.” And as realized…

Nevertheless it begins where the debut left off with the aptly titled ‘An Old Song’, a shot of jaunty, melodic poprock sporting Morrissey-esque stream of consciousness lyrics where rhyming isn’t necessarily a quality and a bridge worthy of The Clash. This, however, is followed by almost nine minutes long ‘Just Real’, with a 4+ minute, psychedelic outro complete with Jethro Tull flute and all – a trick repeated a few times throughout the album (only not as extensive and with more guitar than flute) and generally with success – before they offer a lake to gently drown in with moving 10 minute closer, ‘Moon Palace’.

‘White Mountain’ is not as coherent as the debut, but I guess that’s a natural consequence of exploring new territory. And it’s definitely not something to hold against Kiki Pau, because this is just an excellent second effort.

Genre: Rock
Who: Kiki Pau
Album: White Mountain
Label: Pyramid/Johanna Kustannus
Year: 2010
Country: Finland
Language: English
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Recommended tracks:
An Old Song – Just Real – Small Cuts – White Mountain – Quiet Mountain – Moon Palace