"One of the year's best albums!" - Helsingin Sanomat (the largest daily newspaper in Finland)
The 52-minute cd contains 14 new original instrumental compositions by the group leaders saxophonist Mikko Innanen and guitarist Esa Onttonen. They are joined by the other Gourmet members trombonist Ilmari Pohjola, accordionist Veli Kujala, tubist Petri Keskitalo and drummer Mika Kallio. The down-to-earth acoustic sound is credited to engineer Teemu Korpipää.
On its second full-length album Gourmet has diverged from the boisterous diversity of the debut album by actively focusing on creating both musically and visually unified whole. The album has been inspired, for example, by Lucky Luke, Klaus Kinski, spaghetti westerns, prohibition, Rio Grande, tequila, plastic toy guns, burning bushes, Lee Marvin, South American freedom fighters, bombastic grande finales, lovely señoritas, Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid and Sitting Bull. Thematically compatible album artwork is credited to artist Petra Innanen.
Seven year old Gourmet is still pursuing its own path regardless of current trends or sales figures. The strong melodies and rootsy, emotional playing guarantee that "Six Acres of Broken Hearts" will bring experiences for both the brain and the heart.
"Glamour & Decadence", the debut album of Gourmet placed runner-up in the Critics Poll of the Finnish Jazzrytmit magazine in 2001. All About Jazz wrote: "...they take liberally from such diverse sources as blues, jazz, tango, rock, surf, noise and even Greek bouzouki music. All of these combine into an eccentric and intoxicating brew - atavistic music that maybe never even had its own time."
(Note: the sound clips haven't been included for "Dead Man's Valley" and "My Little Pony" because they are short interludes).
Read more...