Sometimes, singles in the form of teasers are no more than that. They’re just ‘a tease’ that neither promises much or brings much. Something that works by itself, a stand-alone music piece that has a distinctive shape and form and promises good things that an album will bring is becoming a rarity.
With Finnish singer-songwriter Anni Pohto and her “Closure” single as a ‘teaser’ for her forthcoming 2021 album, we got such a piece of music. Pohto has that ‘I don’t care what kind of genre it should be’ approach, here, and comes out of it with flying colors.
No wonder, as Pohto was a Berklee College of Music scholar at one point and combining beats and modern pop with what is considered “old school” is no problem for her. Maybe that is why some have dubbed her ‘the Nordic Alicia Keys.’
As Pohto herself puts it: “The song tells a story about guilt and how you seem to be unable to let go of your past mistakes. It was made this way by recording an old ’80s analog keyboard and then chopping it on a computer to make it sound like it’s stuck on an endless loop without ever resolving. On top of that lo-fi, electronic foundation I invited my dear friends from New York and Helsinki to play guitar (Andre Vasconcelos) and Finnish national instrument kantele (Maija Kauhanen). These soft, fragile, acoustic elements bring a hint of rawness to the mix and balance it beautifully.”
Artists often try to embellish their work with big words, but here, Pohto actually ‘tells it like it is.’ Now, that is a real teaser.
