It begins with a joyful little guitar lick that just happily skips into the listeners headspace. It’s playful and memorable enough on its own but when the rest of the explosive soundscape joins in it morphs into the raw and powerful backbone of the track that leaves a growling echo in the eardrum.
This is punk with a pop edge done right, the whistling coo of the chorus mingles with the roar of the dialled in guitars to provide a supercharged sound that is pure electricity mainlined into the veins. It is energising and exciting and just sounds so much better pumping out of the speakers at full volume.
While Finnish might not be a tongue we understand without the help of a lyric sheet and a translator the vocals carry enough emotion and energy to need no translation at all. It is a ballsy and frenetic song that paints a picture of nostalgia and belonging. From the start of the track to the end it’s a journey that begins in the softer and joyous pastures of youth and then evolves with the gruff angst and bittersweet wisdom of coming of age.
Or not? Who knows. I don’t speak Finnish.
The song shows a tight band who have been brought up on the screaming guitars of rock and punk while still having a decent respect for the melody and song structures of more conventional pop. Prog-pop? The song has a structure but isn’t afraid to break through the borders of that box with a truly monstrous breakdown.
Bad Sauna are an exciting band with a great sound, they play around with genre in a way only those truly accomplished in their sound can. They blur, mingle, and create with the curiosity of the childish mind and the skill of the wizened expert.
Words by Matt Miles.
