Cucina Povera - Tyyni

The third Cucina Povera album was released digitally back in late March, but is only now making its way to us in physical form, presumably because of, yknow, global pandemics and all that. Some things have to wait, and equally so, some things are worth it. As with previous CP releases, Maria Rossi's voice is unavoidably central, and it is tempting to understand her work in the context of Bjork's Medulla, a landmark album in how it treated the human voice. No doubt that's a flattering comparison, though doesn't tell the full story of Rossi's artistic evolution. All things being relative, Tynni is perhaps her most extroverted collection to date, here her vocals providing the scaffolding around which a much wider palette of sound is explored rather than being the dominant feature - she's painting in broader strokes, adding a little metallic bite to the cavernous, fortifying spirit of her voice. Perhaps because i don't speak Finnish, there's a glossolalia like quality Rossi's delivery which has a similarly emotional impact to some Enya (surely an artist in need of modern reappraisal?!?), which is set against an abstracted electronic backdrop that makes subtle nods towards the industrial fire of Moor Mother in her more restrained moments, or going a little further back, even some aspect of MIka Vainio's work with Hafler Trio. Either way, that's just what i hear in what's turning out to be a great body of work - Maria Rossi's on her own path, and there's no doubting the artistry here.