Seksound---Kohalik Ja Kohatu 2--What's Cooking in Estonian Music

A while back I picked up a compilation of Estonian bands issued on the Seksound label, out of Tallin.

Kohalik JA Kohatu 2 is the title, released in 2007. For some reason I bought the second label compilation, not the first. While not everything is to my liking, there is some good music being made in Estonia. And certainly they seem to appreciate shoegaze there.

Baltic or Nordic? You decide

I picked the disc up from Tonevendor, which is a great site to find interesting music, particularly of the shoegaze variety. I was drawn to the site initially because of my interest in the band Secret Shine, but they make a lot of recordings available that you would not be able to get easily, say, from Estonia for example. In addition to the Seksound compilations, they probably have about a dozen releases available. They also sell music on Clairecords, an important shoegaze label, and have a lot of interesting releases by the German group Guitar. Check out their site---I don't think they will disappoint.

The second song on the album got things going with a roar, by the band Ans. Andur, called Parklate Linn, sort of a high energy punked out shoegaze tune--for me the standout on the compilation. Very strong song! I definitely want to hear more from these guys.

Another song that I liked was Indigo Tuba by Galaktlan, though it sounds like it came from an 80's synth-pop time warp, maybe from the Soundtrack to the Estonian "Pretty in Pink". Overall a well executed, pleasing number. In a slightly different vein is Popidiot--the song Hey Girl! sounds like an odd mixture of synthpop and folk music. But I enjoyed the song also.

Another high point on Kohalik 2 is November by Vaiko Eplik Ja Ellit, which is solid shoegaze tune, replete with giant hooks that any fan of Ride or Slowdive would appreciate. Simply a great sounding tune. Another song that I really liked was more of a classical experimental piece by Jakob Juhkam, basically a piano composition with accompanying synth, which would not be out of place on a Birdsongs of the Mesozoic album. Different from the rest of the comp, but well worth hearing.

Another nice song is by Pia Fraus, probably the best known band in the collection, often compared to My Bloody Valentine, but at least I hear a bit of Stereolab. Yenissey seems to be built around a repeated riff, with the ethereal melody layered atop it. They sound like a group that really have their sound together.

Other bands on the record include the Bad Apples, who do a mellow acoustic ballad ala Velvet Underground or maybe Wilco. Honey Power is also well represented, whose Lights From Pillow is one of the better more original songs here, more chamber-pop than shoegaze. The horns on Soterios' Twisted Romance reminds me a little of the Boo Radleys. Picnic's song Who Do You Love is an understated song, pretty sounding with ambient outdoor sounds. Mirabilia's Let it Shine sounds like one of those peppy 60's folk songs, that is at least until the music seems to go into a bad trip, which for me makes the song more interesting.

Overall I think this is a pretty solid compilation. Naysayers would say that the music is derivative,

but I have listened to this three times, and there is a lot to recommend here. Certainly the bands I have recommended here have a lot going for them, and I expect a lot more interesting music coming from Estonia in the future. I mean, I have only heard a few songs by a few bands on one label, but I am pretty impressed with the quality. And thanks, Tonevendor, who did a good job stoking my musical wanderlust.