A quick rundown of my favorite Finnish EPs. Same story as before. Numbers, but pretty arbitrary. Very subjective. Playlist on Tidal and Spotify. Oh and big praise to the Finnish EP of the year aka Kaikki on hattaraa by Huonosti puetut lapset. Absolutely loved it. One of my favorite Finnish releases of the year altogether. Considered it for the album category too, because it’s six songs and 26 minutes. It would have been in the top 10 among the albums too. I think it’s that good. A lot of other good ones here too. STINAKO had a gorgeous trilogy of EPs that share one spot here.
Next up my favorite Finnish albums of 2024. I already had the 30 albums picked, but then Emilia Sisco threw a last minute curveball and released a great album. So I expanded this to a weird amount of 35 favorites, because I didn’t have the heart to remove any that I already had there. Almost went with 50 though, because even with 35 I had to leave out so many good ones. There’s more on the playlist, if it doesn’t feel like enough.
Again there’s numbers, but they are mostly arbitrary. So don’t take them too seriously. Music is love, not a competition. The first two were pretty clear, but after that I could have switched them endlessly. And the order of the first two is a bit difficult too, because I listened Hattara the most but on the other hand, half of that Leija Lautamaja album hit me harder than anything else I heard this year. Sinun takiasi, Ylpeästi sun, Jos jos and Ilman sua tää ei ois elämää is such a tremendous song quartet that in the end it felt like Sydän tuli piilosta had to be the Finnish album of the year.
As usual, this is entirely subjective. I don’t try make an objective best of or try to figure what will stand the test of time. It’s a snapshot of what I loved in December 2024. Even my own list might look somewhat different in a few months.
I didn’t write any blurbs, because I’m lazy and don’t have the time. And most would probably just check out what’s on the list anyway. There’s a Spotify and Tidal playlist if you are into such things. They actually have a lot more than 35 albums, because that was my draft for this. But I left them there as a giant bubbling under section. Maybe not wise because I know there’s stuff missing too. I didn’t add many Bandcamp / YouTube embeds, because if there’s a lot of them the site will either crash or take forever to load. At least on mobile devices. It would make it easy to check out the records, but not worth it due to those issues.
Samae’s album was a tricky one, because I love that he made it and I wished that it would have aged really poorly. Unfortunately we just saw that it’s still very relevant. So extra bonus points for that important album, even though it’s not on this list.
Richard Laviolette – All Wild Things Are Shy (You’ve Changed Records)
Leaving the Finnish borders on this anniversary week collection. This first one leaves me teary-eyed, but it’s still one of my favorite albums of 2024. Canadian songwriter Richard Laviolette wrote and recorded All Wild Things Are Shy during the last five years of his life, in the time between his mother’s death from Huntington’s Disease and his own. A community of friends and colleagues helped him along the way and eventually released the album exactly one year after his death. It’s a really powerful and cathartic album that will stay you long after the last chord has drifted into the air. Here’s a couple of my own favorites from the album. Catacombs plus an older video of album cut Don’t Quit On Me.
Wren Kitz – The Thinker (Feeding Tube Records)
Next to Burlington, VT for a bit more experimental folk sounds by Wren Kitz. It’s not too weird though for my simple taste and some of it is even catchy in a blissfully twisted kind of way. A damn good record. Here’s one of my own favorites, quietly captivating Vast Amiss.
The Bird Calls – Old Faithful (Ruination Record Co)
Moving over to New York for some Sam Sodomsky songs. He releases music under the moniker The Bird Calls and his gentle folk tunes always have some down-to-earth magic inside them. The latest album is called Old Faithful and this one of my favorites from that album.
Nightbird – Out of These Days (Nighttime Recordings)
From The Bird Calls to Nightbird and back to Finnish shores too. Nightbird aka Anna-Stina Jungerstam is a great Finnish folk/blues songwriter and her latest album Out of These Days that came out in early May is one of my Favorite Finnish albums this year. Here’s the hauntingly beautiful single Starling Murmuration to end tonight’s anniversary posts. Maybe more tomorrow, if I’m not too tired.
Anniversary celebration continues with more songs that I love. The actual birthday post ended with Hattara, so I’m sure Jake Nyman would be proud if I post something from an EP called Kaikki on hattaraa. It’s the debut release from Huonosti puetut lapset and I love it to bits. Magical stuff with mostly piano and a beautiful voice. Here’s the last song Mikset voisi minua.
Leija Lautamaja – Ylpeästi sun
This album has been one of my biggest favorites all year long. Leija Lautamaja might be better known from trad circles, but this popular music adventure Sydän tuli piilosta is nothing short of amazing. Full of beautiful playing, great songwriting and gorgeous lyrics that sometimes make you smile and other times move you into tears. I love almost all of the songs, but let’s go with Ylpeästi Sun on this little blog post. A song for mother that is so real and true. Quietly mesmerizing. I love it as much as you can love a song.
Toinen Maisema – Usvaa
Wrapping this quickly with a couple of singles. First the past and future of Finnish rock. Only a little bit joking. I saw Toinen Maisema live late this summer and absolutely loved everything about the concert. If I had a label I would sign them in a heartbeat and force them to make a full length album as soon as possible. There’s two great singles available right now. The latest is called Usvaa.
Nikita Titov – Kirkas tähtiyö
This last one is called Kirkas tähtiyö and it’s filed under the very best songs of 2024. What a beautiful dreamy monster from Nikita Titov. I can’t wait to hear more. Whenever there’s an album, it’s going to cause a havoc in my heart.
