Regina - Katso maisemaa (2005)

1) Elokuva; 2) Pidä varasi, tyttö!; 3) Tokio; 4) Katso maisemaa; 5) Olisitko sittenkin halunnut palata; 6) Kohtaamisia kaupungissa; 7) Pieni ystävä; 8) Nyt on jo myöhäistä; 9) Uusi resepti; 10) Minua ollaan vastassa

Retro kitsch synth pop. Doesn't quite ride its concept as far as it could but gets almost there.

Key tracks: "Pidä varasi, tyttö!", "Katso maisemaa", "Olisitko sittenkin halunnut palata"

In this day and age Katso maisemaa might not seem like much of a big deal stylistically: enticingly 80s-inspired production together with a female singer full of personality is commonplace as anything. In Finland though, and in 2005? This was wild. And it still kind of is, or at least it has stayed remarkably fresh because Regina go over and beyond that descriptor on the album. Here Regina sound like the concept came first and the band was formed solely to make it come true: songs that curtsy around retro sounds and revelling in careful simplicity in how it’s been written, musically and lyrically. Iisa’s child-like delivery and the naïvely direct lyrics about everyday things (watching a movie, moving house, looking at the scenery on a road trip) are right in the forefront and blur the line between knowing winks and genuine expression, and the music desires to be catchy so unashamedly that the song about going to Tokyo features a koto-esque melody and sudden Japanese words - which of course it would. Katso maisemaa is so twee it’s practically kitsch.

The sheer dedication to their chosen musical concept makes the first four songs of Katso maisemaa still a thoroughly giddy, incredibly charming little journey into a world where everything can be seen through wide-eyed wonder and there’s a big hook around each corner to accompany it. “Pidä varasi, tyttö!” still feels like a signature song for the band even if they abandoned the style it represents right after this album: its three minutes are a near-perfect condensation of Katso maisemaa, as Iisa warns about the bad girl in school over a ridiculously addictive chorus that bounces around so jubilantly. The only real niggle is that it’s perhaps a little too pristine for its bedroom production aesthetic: I don’t mean to go all “the demo is better” here but I have heard the originally released the demo and the slightly more lo-fi soundscape does suit the retroism better. “Elokuva” and “Tokio” are bright and colourful energy rushes that suit the unicorn reindeers and rainbow comets of the album cover perfectly, and together the three songs form an introduction that still sounds fresh and genuinely gets you giddy. The title track rounds off the start perfectly: there’s a bittersweet tang to its atmospheric swoops and dreamy textures, and the way they build up make the premise of simply watching the world go by from the passenger seat feel otherworldly. It’s the best song on the album, and befittingly to its theme it’s also a milestone on the album’s flow because after it, Regina changes things up slightly.

It’s not too radical - the shtick is still firmly there - but Regina start thinking beyond their concept for the latter half of the album. The songs begin to introduce little added nuances beyond the faithful verse-chorus-verse template and extend their lengths, the mood starts to vary from technicolour explosion and the lyrics start tackling adult relationships, albeit still in a charmingly direct fashion. It’s welcome because a full album of Regina’s brand of musical cotton candy might have been a little too much ten songs in a row, but more seriously toned songs like “Olisitko sittenkin halunnut palata” and “Nyt on jo myöhäistä” move some of the overt cutesiness aside at a comfortable pace. The former manages to launch a formidable build-up towards the end despite its short length and “Nyt on jo myöhäistä” has brilliant house piano breakdowns cutting through its tense urgency. Admittedly, on a more general note the latter stages of Katso maisemaa aren’t as immediate (or excellent) as its first run of songs, and the almost annoying “Uusi resepti” is a decent example of how badly Regina’s chosen style could easily bite against them, utilising every trick in their bag in a somewhat more grating way. In fact, apart from “Minua ollaan vastassa” which closes the album in a more solemn rendition of what the first set of songs aimed to do, towards the end Regina are in danger of becoming a little too ordinary for their own good. It’s a dangerously front-stacked album.

But don’t let that tarnish the fun too much. Katso maisemaa is still an inspired, engaging album which succeeds in sounding one-of-a-kind even as rest of the world caught up - and Regina’s own decision to move away from its sound after its release certainly helped with that. It’s not anything more than a fun pop record but Regina make it their own: you can’t mistake the 30-odd minutes they’ve created here for anyone else’s creation. In the end what stops it hitting any higher echelons isn’t the fault of the style in one direction or another, and regardless, what you have is still a good album and one impression-leaving debut.

Rating: 7/10