Some time back I received this album from Grandmother Corn, but when I came to review it, the band seemed to have all but disappeared from the face of the earth, with links no longer working. Luckily for me, Olav Bjørnsen is way more adept at searching than I am and discovered they were now called Us. Since recording the album in Finland back in 2019, they had toured Europe before the pandemic got in the way, and then in January 2021 decided to change their name (“we figured we had been Grandmother Corn just as long as The Beatles had been The Quarrymen so…”).
They describe their music as RnB punk, and are influenced by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, Sly & The Family Stone. That certainly comes through in this album, which is far more a product of the late Sixties than anything in the last 50 years. The line-up is Teo Hirvonen (vocals, guitar), Pan Hirvonen (harmonica), Max Somerjoki (vocals, guitar), Rasmus Ruonakoski (bass) and Henri Lintula (drums), and one can imagine this being recorded live in the studio (where it was laid down on tape), as there is a tightness and life within this which is vibrant. I kept being reminded of The Blues Band or Ruthless Blues, as while not blues based as such, there is that spark within which brings everything so alive and connected. The harmonica is an important element, not always there, but when it is there, it brings even more depth and substance.
These guys should not be from Finland, nor should this have been recorded in 2019, as one knows this fits in perfectly with the power pop and psychedelic explosion in London. The guitars sound wonderfully dated, and quite simplistic and naïve, while the drums and bassline are complex and underpin it all, while the vocals have an edge which removes them from the pop world and more into the harsher rock environment. The harmonica provides cut through, combined with that passion and power which only it conveys. The result is an album which is thoroughly enjoyable, packed full of pop songs which while reminiscent of a time gone by, are still relevant today. The name change means they are now hard to find but are certainly worth checking out.
Rating: 8/10
