This is the debut solo album by Lau Naukkarinen (aka Lau Nau), a young alternative folk singer active on the Finnish abstract folk scene and sharing affinities with the likes of Fürsaxa and the Iditarod. She sings in her native tongue, in a very quiet, unassuming voice that has a certain charm but falls under the generic heading of the genre. Kuutarha contains ten short songs (only one of them crosses the five-minute mark), for a total duration of 41 minutes. Its main point of interest resides in the wide array of instruments used, especially the profusion of guitars and string instruments, from sitar to violin, by way of droning electric guitars. Various flutes are also heard throughout. Nau multi-tracks her voice in some pieces, at times strongly evoking some of Linda Perhacs’ songs, especially in “Kuljen halki kuutarhan.” The songs remain abstract for the most part, evolving slowly and all but hiding their melodies (a technique similar to the No-Neck Blues Band), and the incantatory mood thus created is surprisingly captivating. Highlights include “Kuula,” “Johdattaja-Joleen” and the aforementioned “Kuljen halki kuutarhan,” one of the most experimental tracks on the album. The Nepalese traditional song (or so it is identified) “Kivi mureneee jolla kävelee” features a lot of hand percussion in addition to the plaintive violin and psalmodic background vocals. Pekko Käppi, Tomas Regan and Antti Tolvi lend a hand in a few pieces, but Kuutarha is first and foremost a solo project, with lots of overdubs and a prejudice for lo-fi esthetics. The results are intriguing, with the resourceful instrumentation making up for a certain lack of vocal originality, but not entirely conclusive yet. We will have to see what Lau Nau will produce next. – François Couture