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| Uoma-review Tarkus Magazine (Norway) |
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Tarkus
Magazine nr. 40, March 2007 (originally written in Norwegian) On their third album, Uzva takes us on a long journey around half the globe from Karelia through the Tatra mountains and the Bosporous strait to the deserts of Babylon and the plateau of Nepal. A few years have passed since the terrific Nittoaika, and guitarist/composer Heikki Puska compensates by selling us 71 long minutes. Uzva became one of my favourites right from the start. Their ability to find softness in the firm and vice versa, plus decorating their faceted sound with a finesse and richness outside the ordinary, gave their music an instant appeal. And Uoma does not disappoint. Mr. Puska has gathered an even larger team than on the two previous records, so that we are now offered marimba, vibes, violin, cello, clarinet, bassoon, sax, flute and various exotic percussion in addition to the basic guitar, bass, piano and drums. This extensive arsenal is handled without hierarchy, resulting in an irresistible organic nerve in the melodic swarm, which takes place on top of the otherwise simple basic figures. And this, especially, is an important aspect of Uzva. Where quite a lot of so-called chamber rock and –jazz gets overblown and unapproachable in both form and expression, Puska’s compositorial priority always rely on the effectuation of a kind of spiritual and physical primal impulse – if the instrumental expression is not directly beautiful or possessive, it is not worth exploring. It is this substantial humane existence that gives Uzva an advantage compared to much other schooled music, and that we are talking about young people in their twenties and thirties only amplifies the ardour of it all. Six new musical pieces, three of them divided into separate sections, of which “Chinese Daydream” possibly stands out as the best I have heard from Uzva so far, with its trotting, prosaic drive and an almost meditative tonal atmosphere. Other parts are more dramatic and urgent, but it never even borders on irritating mania or poseur art. Perhaps Uzva first of all is about nostalgia towards a sort of utopic-idyllic age which never has occurred beyond their own musical universe, but it is none the less a joy taking part in this. - Rikard A Toftesund © 2007 Tarkus Magazine |
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