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amiina, “puzzle”

By admin_mike In

amiina, puzzle, released 2010 by amínamúsik

1) ásinn
2) over and again
3) what are we waiting for?
4) púsl
5) in the sun
6) mambó
7) sicsak
8) thoka

puzzle features amiina with two more band members, including a drummer; and rather than trample the delicate nature of their music (as I feared), the addition of drums adds depth and weight. Other than that, there are no real surprises here, which isn’t a bad thing. amiina does what they do very well, and their sound is so unique that their continued exploration of it is welcome; their focus seems like devotion rather than creative stasis.

puzzle doesn’t really hit its stride until “in the sun”; the first half is nice enough, but “over and again” and “what are we waiting for?” feature amiina’s singing a bit too prominently; their voices are better suited as additional instruments than as foreground. And the musical ideas in the second half seem richer and more worthy of meditational repetition.

Short answer: if you like amiina, you’ll like puzzle.