Don’t ask me what the title of TENHI’s new EP airut: ciwi has to mean. Even after studying the lyrics I couldn’t find it out. Ok, never mind, let’s deal with the music!
And the music offers a quite inconsistent impression: the intro Tuulennostatus sounds like the band has discovered its love to shamanism and Australian folklore. Drums, deep-sung choirs and an adjuratory atmosphere appear almost too hectic for a band like TENHI. Afterwards the 10-minutes running Kielo follows, which is the highlight on this EP. A very quiet and solemn song. Close your eyes and you will fly over the nocturnal fjords, gliding over cliffy mountains and dark forests till the dawn has broken. Kielo reminds a little of Suoto from the band’s first release Kauan, but isn’t that oppressively dark, just beautiful. Cleverly swimming piano tunes get combined with flutes, acoustic guitars, strings, synths and unobtrusive singing, building up a great soundpicture that easily captivates the listener. Unfortunately Ciwenkierto can’t keep this great atmosphere. TENHI are too much experimenting with Australian aborigine elements, but not that well-done as in the intro. Sounds more like a free-Neofolk-session in studio, since many different elements get combined without suiting to each other. First of all continual bass drums destroy much of the atmosphere. Too bad…
Due to this mixed impression it’s not easy to rate this work. On one hand one will find the best TENHI track ever on airut: ciwi, on the other hand the rest of the material cannot convince entirely. Since I’m still looking forward to the next TENHI full-length, I’ll rate with 7 points…