What is the criteria for a perfect album? Is there a laundry list of things that one must check off to qualify? For some people, perhaps. For me? It's more of a feeling, something in my gut that goes all wonky when a record is pouring out of my speakers. It's an album that can inspire me to no end. Something that makes you feel like you, as a listener, are vital to the music transcending some artificial line in the sand. I don't know, it's very fluid and never easy to pin down. It's one of those things that I know when I hear it. And I certainly heard it a few weeks ago when Nalle first graced my ears.

Nalle is a trio featuring three members of Scatter (two of which also play in One Ensemble of Daniel Padden. Yeah, we're dealing with heavyweights here). Chris Hladowski, Aby Vulliamy, and Hanna Tuulikki make up the group, and the chemistry between the three is instantly obvious. Acoustic arrangements that stir like lost children late at night provide the perfect palette for Tuulikki to weave pure magic.

Nalle treads similar ground as Tuulikki's Finnish compatriots Lau Nau and Islaja, but there's a decidedly Scottish twist. Hladowski's bouzouki and Vulliamy's viola give the feeling of regal music played in the Medieval villages that dotted the British Isles. The way Tuulikki sings and the things she sings about are a celebration of life and the magic and mysticism that accompanies it. "Forest Mountain" turns the mountains and forests into enchanting characters that are part of some great universal play. As the tension builds, the interplay between the bouzouki and viola becomes almost too much to bear. Tuulikki's voices waltzes and wavers like a child sorceress conjuring up all the greats spirits of the Earth. Everything comes together to form something totally magnificent on this track. As a listener, you feel as overwhelmed as Nalle sounds. It's beautiful.

The opening track, "Sunne Song," is a great way to begin the album. It reminds me of early morning on the weekends, lazily rolling out of bed, and stretching your arms to the sun. The hesitant bouzouki notes and the viola drones are subtle, but reenergizing. They pull you out from under the sheets and drag you into the warm summer breezes. "By Chance Upon Waking" is spellbinding from the first flickering moments.

Everything comes together on Nalle's debut to produce some of the best music I've heard in years. The instrumentation is wonderful and Tuulikki's voice, which falls somewhere between Bjork and Austria's Gustav, are absolute perfection. I can't get over just how amazing this record is. Nalle's debut is easily the best thing I've heard in 2006 thusfar, and I reckon it's going to be hard for anything to come close to it. The highest of recommendations. 10/10 -- Brad Rose (28 June, 2006)