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Rantama — Rantama
(Eclipse Music ECD-2020102, 2020, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-12-11

Rantama Cover art

Rantama is a band from Kuopio that’s been around for a few years now. Their first release (in 2016) used the name Rantama Trio, but they’ve added a member and shortened the name since then. Musically, they operate in that area that isn’t really progressive rock but isn’t really not progressive rock either. Their songs are intelligent, well-played, and frequently stray from simple structures, but don’t adhere to the traditions of classic prog either. Some of Timo Rantama’s guitar parts are quite tricky and resemble what you might hear in a math-rock band, though they’re not in odd meters. Keyboards are used, but they’re in a supporting role, rarely taking the fore. On the whole, the lead vocals are at the forefront, and singer Taavi Kiiskinen is a powerful force, able to belt out lines in classic rock style; he also has a strong falsetto that he brings to bear at times. At times, they leave space for the bass (Tatu Back) and drums (Iiro Laitinen) to lay down some tasty grooves. There is a good balance between longer tunes where they stretch out and shorter, more concise tunes. When they lengthen the arrangements, it’s not for guitar solos, at least not of the improvised or flashy variety — Rantama plays parts that are variations of other material in the songs with the parts spiced up by extra embellishments. The chording is sophisticated without getting into jazzy areas. All in all, this is a solid release however you categorize it (or don’t, just listen and enjoy).

Filed under: New releases, 2020 releases

Related artist(s): Rantama

More info
http://rantama.bandcamp.com/album/rantama

 

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