Tonfiski Olja-s/t EP (2013)

Well, there's just no telling what the kiddies is gonna come up with these days, is there? For example: Tonfiski Olja, from eastern Finland. Most readers associate Finland with a robust, and robustly entertaining, hardcore punk scene. Among other gems, Finnish punks brought us aviator bands as a fashion accessory (look it up), as well as a horde of great bands I won't bother naming. Tonfiski Olja, however, is having none of that homegrown noisepunk slop.
That ain't what we got here. Tonfiski Olja's four tracks fall somewhere between a garage punk band still mastering its instruments and Submission Hold. I don't know if anyone remembers the latter band but T.O. reminds me of the contorted, plodding post-punk S.H. was dishing out around 2000. It's a strange mixture of juvenile punk rage and more complex song structures, and I still can't decide if it works. "Korrosio" is the best song here: spitfire drumming and simple, propulsive guitarwork that the singer shouts and howls over in blistering Finnish. Then there's the inevitable quasi-breakdown that you can't drag your knuckles to because it's a bit too clever for that. That's just it: when you think T.O. is a bunch of caveman ponx, they end up being clever songwriters. This band is just going with their instincts, and in an age when everyone is doing their best to sound like someone else, I commend that.

Get into it HERE.