Erja Lyytinen

Any time a release from Erja Lyytinen drops through my door is a day the system is going to be revved up and I expect to settle back for a set of top quality Blues/rock with a very Finnish edge to it.
‘Another World’ carries on the tradition in some style.

Right out of the traps with ‘Snake In The Grass’ she hits a big riff as if daring the band to catch her up and then busts into a powerful solo driven song, rhythms cutting up and across each other and the vocals – almost a jazz tinge to her vocal as she follows the drums down into the chorus.
This is new territory for Lyytinen – less focus on slide guitar and more about the song structure and it really works.
‘Cherry Overdrive’ was a song she debuted in her recent live shows and it really caught the crowd’s attention. Here it is even more solid and driven, but her vocals and harmonies take the song further and give it an almost ethereal quality, once more, something you don’t really expect from her.
Then we are into the title track and she seems to be going in a whole new direction again. Soft vocals, full of subdued strength and massive riffs in the break. I could almost imaging this being done by Europe but frankly her guitar lines are tougher and her vocals really put over the sense of exploration and loss.

The other 5 tracks follow the same standards, strong writing and excellent performances with a sense of going to new places musically and emotionally for Ms Lyytinen especially the gorgeous and comi-tragic ‘Wedding Day’.

The album was recorded in Finland and the album feels as though she has been relishing the space and freedom to record in her own space. There is more of a ‘band’ feel than previously and the songs are stronger than she has managed previously.

This is definitely one of the best albums that Erja has put together and I have a feeling that further listening is only going to endear it more in the hearts of all her fans.