Pauanne – Joku Raja Rakkaudesakin (Nordic Notes / CPL-Musicgroup, 2025)
As I first pressed play on a cool spring evening, the ghostly violin and kantele of Joku Raja Rakkaudessakin (Even Love Should Have Its Limits), the third album by Finnish duo Pauanne, transported me across time and space. It led me to misty Karelian forests and candle-lit village halls.
From the very beginning, Kukka Lehto and Tero Pennanen have treated history not as a dusty museum, but as a living, breathing force. Their self-described “Underground Folk” style draws from archival recordings of Finnish and Karelian voices, some recorded more than a century ago, offering them not as relics but as co-conspirators. However, in Joku Raja Rakkaudessakin, Pauanne digs even deeper. Here, the duo threads the past and present together so tightly that the seams all but vanish, building songs that pulse with raw emotion and fierce relevance.
Instrumentally, the album is a marvel. Lehto’s violin playing is earthy and agile, veering from brisk, almost Celtic reels to solemn, Slavic laments. At times, her bow seems to channel not just melodies but voices, pleading, mocking, exulting. Pennanen’s keyboard work, meanwhile, is equally expressive. Eschewing traditional folk accordion for a broader palette of electric piano, Hammond organ, and synth sounds, he brings a moody, cinematic sweep that recalls the innovations of Swedish folk-psychedelic groups like Garmarna and Hedningarna, while remaining distinctly Finnish in tone.
Moreover, the duo’s interplay with the archival recordings is masterful. In tracks like Pelkkä Persevä Neitsyt, the ancient exorcism spell mutates into a defiant feminist anthem, carried by sharp-edged violin riffs and a churning electronic undercurrent. One can hear the crackle of old wax cylinder recordings bleeding into modern protest, making the track feel eerily timeless.
Similarly, Karjala layers traditional melodies atop muscular, almost bluesy organ lines.
Other songs carry a heartbreaking intimacy. In Nyt alotan minä lauluain, the fragile voice of an elderly man is set against a waltzing rhythm, as if the very act of remembering were a dance against forgetting.
Pauanne’s commitment to storytelling is further elevated through collaboration, notably in the stunning video for Onneni Tähdet, directed by Estonian artist Robin Nõgisto. Here, the duo juxtaposes the heroism of war veterans with the societal neglect they later faced, a painful duality visualized with haunting, almost surreal imagery.
Guest musicians on the album include Abdissa Assefa (percussion and programming), Senni Eskelinen (kantele), Janne Haavisto (drums), Karoliina Kantelinen (vocals), Oskari Lehtonen (percussion), Kaisa Leskinen (vocals), and Anssi Salminen (guitar).
Author: Madison Quinn
