The unpronounceable Scandinavian band name, album title, and song titles are the best way to start off this review. Alamaailman Vasarat. Maahan. Huikeuden Lieriö. Say them over and over again, with whatever inflection you want, I don’t care. Doesn’t it feel awesome!? Reading foreign languages aloud without knowing how to pronounce them is one of the great joys of being human. I watch foreign language news sometimes, just to absorb the delicious flavors of any language besides English.

Alamaailman Vasarat is from Finland and present a sound that is not much like anything else you’ll hear described as “rock music” for quite some time. I feel, while listening to this album, interestingly, that I’m listening to a foreign language. I will say now, this is one of the most amazing things I’ve heard this year. This band presents a hilarious, insane, Jewish mix of klezmer, progressive rock, jazz, punk, and whatever else you can think of, into a hyperactive ordered chaos. Horns, clarinets, and a pump organ fly off into impossible directions in among the klezmer rhythms of double bass, drums, and occasionally piano and cello. And (refreshingly) NO guitar!!!

Have you ever thought traditional klezmer instruments could rock harder than a guitar? Have you!? Alamaailman Vasarat will personally spank you on the arse with a saxophone for thinking such nonsense. The band has taken klezmer music (which already is quite insane, particularly when it uses alternate meters) turned it up a few notches, and added a technical progressive rock sensibility that may remind some people of the dance-able instrumental rock band Silencio. As much as the instrumental mix is fun and chaotic, there is a strict sense of order and control kept through the entire album. It is technically tight, without sacrificing any ounce of klezmer passion or the human element.

Now, this isn’t the easiest thing to do in the world. I’ve been playing clarinet for about two years, and my Macedonian teacher specializes in playing Balkan folk music. Klezmer is not the easiest style to master at the best of times: consisting of rapid, up-tempo melody lines with heavily articulated and usually densely applied ornamentation by the performer. While the style on this album doesn’t strictly follow klezmer conventions all of the time, the ultimate goal of the music (and certainly the pace and energy) is definitely achieved, particularly when the band moves into a 6/8 feel, demanding the listener to get up and dance like you own a skullcap. This will be another album to add to my slowly growing collection of klezmer related music, next to John Zorn’s amazing klezmer-jazz group Masada.

The greatest asset of this album is that it is fun. Ignoring its technically proficient performance and the flawless construction and compilation of the music on this album, it is fucking awesome to just let go of one’s prejudices and dance, clapping your hands and saying “yeah.” I say bring on more of this klezmer-rock nonsense, its far less gloomy, and far more awesome than most of the other instrumental music being released. Music’s playing. Time to dance.

-Marcus Whale