Eppu Normaali's Aknepop--Finland--What A Country!

I got a call from my mom at work the other day. Apparently she had contacted one of our Finnish relatives on Facebook. She had written to them years ago but was out of touch. My great-grandmother used to correspond with them regularly, but she passed away years ago. They live way up north, in Santa Claus land, up by the Arctic circle. My mom was pretty excited about finding them on Facebook, and I was pretty amazed to see that there were definitely some distinct similarities between people related yet don't really know each other. Maybe some of these things came from the influence of my late great-grandmother. Back then her biggest fear was that the relatives would want to come over and live with her because they were poor. Things are very different for Finland these days, as they possess one of the highest standards of living on earth.

My head began percolating with thoughts of Finland and I remembered that I purchased some Suomipunk on Ebay a while back.

Eppu Normaali. Aknepop. Their first one. 1978-Poko Records. Great god damned album. They sound like the Finnish Clash. I don't know what they are saying, but this is classic stuff, upper-tier punk rock.

I'm started doing a little research and it turns out that they are one of the most popular if not most popular rock bands in Finland ever. It sounds like some crazy alternate universe, like waking up one morning and finding out that the punks took over. A punk rock fantasy.

What a country. I know I'm part Finnish and a little predisposed, but that's pretty remarkable. My admiration grew when I watched the Finnish Olympic hockey team nearly beat the Swedes in the finals. Nobody expected them to do anything, and they got a silver medal through pure guts and determination. I remember there was a guy with no front teeth jumping around throughout the games. A language with a lot of vowels. Been there once and had a great time. Had rye porridge for the first time. Really liked Helsinki--hope to return someday soon.

Of course it turns that unlike most punk acts, they kept together for years and years and they ultimately became more of a traditional rock act. But that's usually what happens with bands after a few albums. An album like say, Primal Scream's Xtrmnatr is one of those exceptions. Look at Stiff Little Fingers last album before they initially split up Now Then..... By any stretch of the imagination a very decent record, but the songs that everyone knows the words to at shows are not on that one. But in fairness, good bands aren't going to stay in one place for long.

Martti Syrjä: Vocals
Aku Syrjä: Drums
Mikko Syrjä: Guitar
Mikko Saarela: Bass
Juha Tovinen: Guitar


I'm listening to Aknepop for the 3rd time today, and each time I listen, the more I get into these guys.
Listen to song 8, Poliissi Pamputtaa Taas. (Cop beats with baton 2). Absolutely stunning. There name comes from Abby Normal, the brain that was put into the creature in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. Aknepop roars out of the gate with Teen Sinusta Muusia--overall I am reminded of the Clash's 1st album when I hear these songs. Listen to the anthemic Suomi Ryomii, (Finland Crawls). Really high energy music. I definitely give Aknepop a high recommendation.

I haven't used them to buy music, but it seems that the Stupido Records Store site would be a pretty good place to find Suomipunk. They seem to have most of Eppu Normaali discography in stock. As more and more mp3 albums are being posted for sale, there are a lot more records across the globe becoming readily and cheaply available. I still like to have something tangible, so call me old fashioned. As for Eppu Normaali, though I am not familiar with their later output,  I think that any fan of 1977-style punk rock should definitely seek this album out.