Islaja, Meritie (CD)

While Islaja has grown into a more focused songwriter than some of her Finnish neighbors/compatriots, her 2004 debut Meritie is a bit more sprawling and messy. The prominent layered vocals resemble some sort of primitive approximation of Linda Perhacs, and the songs are generally built around tentative guitar playing. The album is weird, memorable and engaging, but lacks the sophistication that makes her later work stand out. The arrangements, while distinctive and interesting, feel more like Refrigerator's loose exploration of ideas than the refined focus she found by her second album. The fold-out packaging is particularly beautiful and fits the music nicely.