KOULEMANKELLO. Like I needed to get into another band whose name I can't come close to pronouncing correctly much less spell. But the gods have spoken and out of Finland comes this Proto-Metal Punk fusion of a band that just fucking rocks. Their debut album, "Perkeet," has 13 tracks, and I have no idea what any one of them are about but I'm so down with every one of them.  

Okay, let me be clear. KOULEMANKELLO is not some kind of innovative, mind-blowing prog band who turns a composition inside out like Zappa or IGORRR. This is some raw analog, pre-basics stuff. Think THE STOOGES "Raw Power" or THE SAINTS "I'm Stranded"—and not only in the visceral nature of their music but in comparison to what was going on around them.   KOULEMANKELLO is like that. They sound like a band that just doesn't give a fuck about what's happening in the overall metal/rock/punk scene. Their motto is "Life is short and the death clock is ticking, better to start a band now than tomorrow." And that perfectly captures what this band is about.

I'm not going to give a track-by-track review here. There are 13 tracks, we'd be here all day. I will say, however, that out of all 13 tracks there is only one that breaks the three-minute mark, and one doesn't even hit a single minute. Still, we get 33 minutes of runtime. I will, however, note some standout tracks. The opening track, also a video, "Paarmojen herra," is just a bucket of irreverent fun. "Sillanpolttaja" is as funky as it is crunchy. "Kalmainen poika" is a badass rocker. "Sielun perkeet" stylistically reminds me of THE KNACK's "My Sharona." And in the and-now-for-something-completely-different category, I'll toss in "Musto hahmo" which is 45 seconds of Eemeli (I presume) singing to the strains of a stringed instrument that sounds like it's a) very rudimentary or b) missing a few strings or c) all of the above plus way out of tune. Either way, it's as stripped down as you can get. Love it.

KOULEMANKELLO comes across as a band that got together on the spur of the moment and created something that is pure genius in its spontaneity. Will there be a second album for KOULEMANKELLO? I almost wish not but of course I hope there is. Regardless, right now we go "Perkeet" which is perfect it's raw compulsive urgency.