Vuola

There is only so much that a verse can communicate to an audience before falling short of capturing the depth of passion an artist has on the stage, in the studio, and anywhere else their craft can be practiced. It’s in this sense that much of the textural output in the new record Alouv from Vuola has a greater impact to make on listeners than any of the lyrics do, which isn’t to say that the poetic abilities of this artist are subpar behind his musicianship. 

Vuola doesn’t want to tell conventional stories, nor does he want to exist on an emotional island here - Alouv celebrates this desire, and pushes it as far toward us as possible. “Omana Omala Oana Odati Ojoda” has a hefty drone that draws us in with its hypnotic girth but doesn’t quite destroy us with size. There’s a vague melodicism to this track that strikes me as being as virginal as what we find at the bottom of “Astra Lucia Omnia Ultra Verum,” although the latter is driven by its percussive prowess whereas the former is much more stoic and immovable. 

The soul is the same here, and I found this after only a single listening session. In “Under Above Orion Venus Loves,” we can make out the faint lines of a pop single within the gush of distortion and zealous vocal harmonies in the first half of the song, and I can see where it could be the right track to get people intrigued by the rest of the record as well. This EP has all the makings of a proper album but not quite the length, but I would argue that its running time isn’t what dictates its gargantuan journey; if anything, it’s the pacing of the tale Vuola is weaving together. 

 At first, I didn’t think that the shape of “Laugh Vivid Often Adore Unity” made a lot of sense in the second portion of the tracklist, especially given its almost Led Zeppelin-esque use of balladic string play and groove-laden hook, but it didn’t take me long to understand why it makes for such an integral segue into “Astra Lucia Omnia Ultra Verum.” For starters, it’s the perennial calm before the storm, and to some extent, it affords the conclusion of the EP just a bit more theatrics than we would have felt without its presence. Mechanics matter, and Vuola knows this. 

 Whether he’s smothering us in beautiful melodic noise ala “Vapaa Uljas Onnen Lapsi Aamun” or collapsing beneath the harmonies of “Laugh Vivid Often Adore Unity,” Vuola demonstrates a calmness at the helm of this project that is well-deserving of some applause this year, and despite a lot of competitiveness in the underground avant-garde rock scene, this easily tops the list of incoming releases I’ve got to hear ahead of their official arrival. 

Alouv is startlingly personal in places and constantly reminds us of its pure sonic power, and in the long run, I think it’s going to do a lot to bring this player out of obscurity. 

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Cleopatra Patel

Surat, GJ. (IND) 

5/2022