Huba - Arriving (2016)

It is encouraging to note that Huba does not always rely on the most obvious options. The Kind of Music nods to Broadway without losing its soul. Nina Simone's signature Hair tune Ain't Go No / I Got Life and the ancient Dust My Broom are not only surprising but also functional loan choices. The same can be said of the editing of Blake and Kipling's poems into song lyrics. The themes of other lyrics cruise between contemporary reality and the Old Testament.

The arrangements do justice to the backing singers (Anne Juttala, Johanna Försti, Marika Tuhkala) who fill in the limitations of Kaila's vocal Arsenal. Prättälä, Kaakkuriniemi and other credit musikants do their baking nicely, but the production feels too aerodynamic. It's like some of the juice in meining didn't make it all the way to the album.