Review: Regina - Puutarhatrilogia

Regina is one of the few successful Finnish electronic acts and what makes them special is that they happen to be very good at creating mellow indie electronica with deep influences from ambient, dance and alternative. Less than two months ago Iisa Pykäri (ex-Pajula) and company released their third album named "Puutarhatrilogia", but just yesterday I had the chance to listen to it. Actually I had to listen to it at least three times in a row in order to get used to their new sound.

With their newest release Regina are demonstrating an audible stylistic change, which perhaps is another effort to position themselves in a certain music niche. "Puutarhatrilogia" is their most downtempo and least electronic album up to now, concentrating more on the unexplored vocal abilities of Iisa and adding more instruments and samples than ever before. The whole record is like a sophisticated matineé and its texture is filling the air with tenderness and delight.

Although the album is less dependent on electronic it still contains satisfyingly a lot of electronic elements which perfectly fit with the live instruments and the contemporary classic samples. Throughout "Puutarhatrilogia" you could feel the vibes of dances like jazz and tango, which can make you shake some booty...of course this doesn't mean that the album is suitable for a regular dance routine in a club, but it is excellent for a background in a club to chill-out or just have your coffee to the voice of Iisa.

Tracks to hear: "Saanko jäädä yöksi", "Vapaus", "Olen häviöllä, Pauli" and "Totuus minusta"

Personal rating: 7 out 10