Variety is the spice of life. I like to listen to all sorts of music as you will never know what you will find until it finds you. Duly and verily, that is how it was with Outi Karhu and her album “Let The Light In”.
It is indeed the way of our times to hit hard and fast in the hope of making some sort of sonic impact that will lead to commercial success yet Outi Karhu has instead taken a diametrically opposite approach with these eleven songs walking a tightrope between fragility and emotional intensity. There is little doubt that Outi Karhu has the vocal ability, paired with most eloquent diction, to make any song seem like a poetic recitation yet I doubt that this was her intent and, although much of what you will hear on this album is restrained in presentation, I suspect her true purpose was to cast a spell that would, at least temporarily, provide the necessary spiritual uplift to distract the listener from all that might be classified as daily troubles.
As albums go, “Let The Light In” is not one to immediately impress. That said, the care and focus that is required to make all that isn’t quite as it seems work as more than just a background to everyday mediocrity is both clear and evident and, on that basis, it is nothing less than logical to conclude that Outi Karhu knows what she is doing.
Available on vinyl from Bandcamp and from the usual digital sources.