Karkelo

Polenta is an odd name for a Finnish folk band. However, in Finnish ‘polenta’ means ‘stomp’. This youthful Helsinki quartet features violin, plus a pair of five-string fiddles and an acoustic guitar. Violinist Olli Sippola doubles on mandolin. Polenta’s first album Kaustinen Turbo addressed the tunes of folk fiddle pioneer Konsta Jylhä, but this second release concentrates on the band’s original tunes, although these still sound heartily traditional. Their melodies are distinctive, with a forcefulness to the delivery and finesse in the detail. The layered fiddles lend a massed singing sound, with Mikko Malmivaara’s guitar as a driving force. Strangely, some of the purposeful bowing sounds like it’s descended from the work of Michael Nyman. ‘Sippolan Ollin Katrilli’ has a solo fiddle spotlight, and ‘Polska Polun Varrelta’ is much slower than expected, while ‘Ikkuna’ opens as a guitar/mandolin ballad, fiddles later providing sweeps of colour. Happiness and positivity override any possible morose moments, but ‘Ykköspolska’ has a darker dramatic thrust.