Egotrippi – Alter ego (1998)

Like so many other Finnish bands, also Egotrippi draws influences from a large variety of different genres and bands. Many of the songs on this third album of theirs sound a bit like early two albums by Radiohead. There are also some power pop songs that sound a lot like The Posies. Egotrippi became known to masses in Finland after the very successful single Unihiekkaa from their second album. So, there were quite big expectations for this third album when it came out. It managed to be a success for the fans of the band, but it wasn't until years later that Egotrippi really became one of the biggest bands in Finland. In my opinion, the band is nowadays also a lost cause. They've become very boring with their mainstream commercial success. Alter ego, on the other hand has some great songs and it is an important part of my youth.



I, like so many others, was introduced to Egotrippi by their single Unihiekkaa. I didn't pay that much attention to the band immediately, but then I saw them perform live outside the Helsinki music venue Nosturi and I really liked their set. This album had just been released back then and I bought it on a jewel case CD quite quickly after the show. The album is a great selection of power pop, ballads and more straightforward pop rock. Back in the day I did not make the connection with Radiohead, but now that I'm listening to this album, it seems clear that these guys must have listened to The Bends and Pablo Honey in the 90's.

Language and lyrics have a huge role in Finnish pop music. People even think of this kind of music as Suomi-rock (Finnish rock) as opposed to any other possible genre classifications. So, the language defines the music better than what the music actually sounds like. This is also why you can't really say that much about Suomi-rock as a genre. 90's was kind of a golden time for Suomi-rock. There were numerous bands that the kids of that time still listen to and go back to. It was still a time of the album and commercial single-oriented pop music was only on its way to become again the most listened to form of music.

Pois Minusta Paha Henki is a great power pop song that reminds me of The Posies. The lead singer Mikki Kauste shows his falsetto in many places in this song. Vieterit is a song with super fast tempo and it even reminds me of some skate punk songs of the time. Ulkopuolella is the first ballad on the album. This song sounds exactly like some of the songs on Radiohead's couple of first albums. Posteljooni tones the sounds down even more. This song really shows Egotrippi's capability in making beautiful ballads. The clear vocals work beautifully. Poika Kalpea kind of sounds like some songs from Egotrippi's contemporary Finnish band, Ultra Bra. It has the same kind of bass line and drums as on Ultra Bra's Tyttöjen välisestä ystävyydestä. Lautturi is a cover song originally written by one of Finland's most well-known bands Eppu Normaali. This isn't that well-known of a song so it was possible to make a successful cover of this song. I think it's a great version.

I also need to link a music video here. This is for the great song Ulkopuolella. The youtube video has been recorded from a tv-show so it has a bit of HIM song in the beginning. 90's was good time for Finnish music videos and this is a great song, so I especially encourage my non-Finnish readers to give this video a go.

Egotrippi was an important band for me in my teenage years and I have enjoyed some of their songs until this day as well. It's a great example of ambitious and well-made Finnish rock music from the 1990's.

Listen to the album on Spotify.