Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
If anything comes close to being the proverbial man eater then music should be the one that is all consuming; it should also not confide itself to one gender, to one specific gene pool, it should consume with passion everything in its path and lick its lips as it salivates over the next soul posing as a tasty morsel to eat.
Erja Lyytinen has already broken many hearts, she has taken the soul on a journey to which some, with thanks emanating from their outstretched, prayer like, hands, have not bothered to return fully from, such was their trip, such was their enjoyment of what she has already offered, that to seek out a new musical lover would be seen as frivolous or just plain greedy. Yet occasionally to wallow in the insatiability of consuming, to walk another mile onwards into the heart of hunger, of desire, is not a bad thing to admit to.
In Erja Lyytinen, the music is not just consuming, it burns up the excess calories in a way that any Stolen Hearts could dream of, this same embezzlement of the muscle of love is to be greeted like an old friend, a kiss under the stars or even holding hands with someone, anyone, as the end of the world comes crashing down around your ears, such moments are memorable because of the finite that comes with them.
This sense of the colossal is to be encouraged, to break beyond the barrier that is nearly self imposed and when you have a producer of the quality of Chris Kimsey at the helm, the sense of grandeur is always going to tip the album into the realms of explosions at dawn or the grandest fireworks being seen over Sydney Opera House; a new dawn is always to be welcomed in style.
In tracks such as Rocking Chair, the extensive Black Ocean, the engaging Lover’s Novels and Awakening, Ms. Lyytinen captivates and charms her way around the listener’s soul as if it had never been touched in such a way before, the devourer of souls that this music provides is not for the faint hearted but for the one who wants to explore the possibilities of a new journey with a musician and a vocalist who knows the best way to steal hearts.
Erja Lyytinen’s Stolen Hearts is released on April 7th on Tuohi Records.
Ian D. Hall