Rally of Love

AMG Review of Rally of Love

Antti J. Ravelin
All Music Guide

22-Pistepirkko has always been a very experimental and open-minded band, but on Eleven they found a whole new way of arranging songs, featuring more and more tracks that relied on drum machine or synth leads. Despite 22-Pistepirkko's attraction to MIDI synths and computer, Eleven had a lot of guitars, but on Rally of Love they've jumped even further. And that's not even the most shocking thing to old school 22-Pistepirkko fans: 22-Pistepirkko has intentionally tried to make a poppy and produced album. That and the extensive use of synthesizers make Rally of Love a 22-Pistepirkko album you've never heard before. Their songwriting has remained just the same, so what you hear is a very modernized version of 22-Pistepirkko. A great thing about Rally of Love is that even though computers dominate the entire album, it still sounds very warm. But despite that, Rally of Love is a bit exhaustive. There is not a single track where synths and drum machines are not in the foreground, so 45 minutes of synths and P-K's voice (drummer Espe sings on only one track, "D-Day") can be too much. Also, unlike "Onion Soup" on Eleven, there isn't a potential hit song that stands out from the rest of the material. It's pretty typical for 22-Pistepirkko to make albums that are smoothly excellent, and that's Rally of Love's problem, too. But yet, it is a steady and good album from 22-Pistepirkko, and there are plenty of fine songs here.