Minimalistic avant-garde music is generally a tough sell to anyone other than those with some really 'far reaching' tastes, which is why The Complete Solo Works from Finnish musician/record label maverick Jussi Lehtisalo is no doubt going to have a hard time finding an audience. As a veteran of such acts as Circle, Pharaoh Overlord, Split Cranium, and many others, in addition to running both Ektro Records & Full Contact Records, Lehtisalo obviously has had his hands in many cookie jars over the years. Even with all that, he's managed to record two solo albums, Rotta and Interludes For Prepared Beast, both of which have been included here in this collection. Much of what you get is minimalistic, atmospheric, and ambient space rock that could also be called avant-garde. Not a lot going on from track to track, but plenty of lilting guitar strums, floating keyboard washes, and some spoken word narrations. In some ways, especially the Rotta pieces, one track basically segues to the next with not much of a change in tone or tempo, and it's not until "Caterpillars" where you begin to hear some variation thanks to some percussion and frenzied synth noodling, as well as some brief heavy metal guitars. ""Here March the Cranes" even approaches futuristic black metal for a spell before falling back into a strange avant-garde/jazz/metal hybrid of various sounds that don't always work together.
Certainly not for the faint of heart or those who crave melody, structure, and focus in their music, The Complete Solo Works might appeal to those listeners who appreciate stuff that's way off the beaten path and doesn't really fit into any neat & tidy genre patterns.
Track Listing
1) Veljeni
2) Viimeinen kalja
3) Aikoja sitten
4) Ei siin mitää
5) Caterpillars
6) Here March the Cranes
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