I find myself open to good party music these days, and nobody makes party music better than the Finnish group Uusikuu. They’re an exhuberant ensemble that has made five previous albums that mostly focused on updated and uptempo versions of the Finnish tango music that was popular from the 1930s to the ’60s. Those albums included their 2022 release Karuselli, which I reviewed here.
This time out on Piknik, lead singer Laura Ryhänen and her bandmates are moving into the more modern ’70s and ’80s. Although not with synthesizers and sharp snare drums, but still with Uusikuu’s trademark acoustic sounds of accordion (Norbert Bremes), violin (Mikko Kuisma), guitar (James Geier) and double bass (Florian Dohrmann). And still with a recognizable nod toward the Finnish tango, like in the second track “Iltaan syttyvät lamput” (The lamps come on in the evening), and “Pitkien halausten nainen,” with Mikko singing lead.
Four of the twelve tracks on Piknik are Uusikuu originals, and the rest are a blend of humorous humppas (a peppy, jazz-like dance music that’s something like a fast foxtrot), tangos, and iconic swing tunes. Among the latter is “Sä kaunehin oot,” better known here by its German title of “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,” as sung by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald. On Piknik it’s sung by guest Milana Misic with Ryhänen harmonizing throughout. And on the sultry “Sulle salaisuuden kertoa mä voisin” they celebrate the music of the Harmony Sisters, a trio that brought close harmony singing (á la the Andrews Sisters) to Finland during the Swing era and whose music enjoyed a revival in the 1970s.
Mikko’s violin takes on a rustic tone in the intro to “Lempi,” a sort of Finnish murder ballad set to a jaunty jenkka dance beat. The cheeky “Yes sir, alkaa polttaa” with delightful multi-part harmonies by the men, is an homage to the Spanish Eurovision disco duo Baccara’s 1970s smash “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie,” which is just one of several Eurovision references on Piknik, for those of you following such things. And don’t miss Ryhänen’s song “Mata Hari’s Eyes,” which opens the album in suitable fashion, or their cover of the 1960s Nancy Sinatra-Lee Hazlewood hit “Summer Wine,” here titled “Kotiviini.” Uusikuu’s latest is a multicultural delight through the lens of Finnish kitsch.
(Nordic Notes, 2025)
