KYLÄHULLUT AIN’T NO HATE CREW

Let’s take a look at a band that, amazingly enough, doesn’t take itself as seriously as, say, every other band that has originated from the Scandinavian Peninsula. Formed in 2004 by Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho, Kylähullut was a silly side-project featuring Tonmi Lillman (Ex- To/Die/For) and Vesku Jokinen (Klamydia). I’ve liked the occasional Bodom song and Laiho was pretty easy on the eyes until he wasn’t, but I gotta say, I much prefer him and Jokinen rasping in a language I don’t understand than anything relating to hate crews. Kylähullut, which means “village idiots,” performs all their songs in Finnish, and they’re all simple thrash/punk metal ditties as easy to digest as your average pop song.

Though their most recent release is 2007’s Peräaukko Sivistyksessä, I prefer the first album, Turpa Täynnä, from 2005. As well as an abundance of umlauts, each song has a delightful name, especially “Scenehuora,” which means, if you couldn’t guess, “scene whore.” I also quite like “…Ja Jeesus ei pysy ristillään!” (“…And Jesus won’t stay on his cross!”) and “Vitun urpo!” (“Fucking idiot!”). The exclamation points are a nice touch.

My favorite song of theirs, though, “Ei pelkoa,” which was also the first Kylähullut song I ever heard. It’s has a touch of the customary Laiho guitars, but without his proclivity to meander endlessly. I think the fact that each song barely hits three minutes really plays up to the trio’s strengths. No frills, just hard, straightforward music. The only song that sort of bugs me is “Kylähullut, ” which features Kimberley Goss, whose voice makes me want to throttle cute, innocent things. It sounds like Andrew WK mated with a Finnish Avril Lavigne. But even that tune has its charm.

Also, if someone could explain to me what the hell is happening in this video, I’d appreciate it. I found it while searching for the song “Kääpiöt.” Far as I can tell, it’s the three dudes on a very special adventure together.

They actually remind me of another silly Finnish act (not in terms of the actual music, but just their general air and attitude), Eläkeläiset. A geriatric band that does heavy metal polka (humppa) covers with the occasional pop or rock song thrown in for good measure. Like. “Smells Like Teen Humppa.”  I really don’t know what these bands are drinking, but I would like to try it.

-LF