Never one to release the exact same album twice in a row, Erja Lyytinen follows up the carefully arranged and produced ‘Waiting for the Daylight‘ with the altogether much rawer ‘Smell the Roses’. Those expecting a full-on return to her blues roots as a result will end up surprised, however. While there will always be traces of blues in Lyytinen’s songwriting and guitar playing, ‘Smell the Roses’ is every bit as varied compositionally as ‘Waiting for the Daylight’ was. Though the raw, bluesy edge is slightly more pronounced, ‘Smell the Roses’ is as varied as guitar-driven music gets.

Lyytinen recorded the basic tracks of ‘Smell the Roses’ with her live band immediately after touring with them extensively, and it shows. The album is filled to the brim with lively, fiery performances from everyone involved. But while the album feels a little more jam-heavy overall, it’s clearly more than just that. The way the main guitar theme and the awesome harmony in the middle section of ‘Going to Hell’ are incorporated into the song, for example, betray that a great deal of thought has been put into these songs, and that is exactly what sets them apart from the average blues release.

Sonically, ‘Smell the Roses’ may be a bit more consistent than its predecessor, with the foundation being bluesy rock music, but as a songwriter and a producer, Lyytinen has a keen ear for different melodic contexts. No two songs on ‘Smell the Roses’ sound even remotely similar. Even within similar approaches, the results vary. For example: the title track and ‘The Ring’ are both riffy rockers, but the laid-back vibe which is amplified even more during the chorus of the former contrasts nicely with the borderline aggressive slide riffing of the latter. Every song having an instantly recognizable melody certainly helps as well.

Contrasts are likely Lyytinen’s hidden weapon. The way the unconventional timing of the almost stoner rock-esque main riff of ‘Abyss’ and its more elegantly arranged vocal sections enhance each other is simply genius. There is a simple rock riff that occasionally breaks up the classy guitar pop of ‘Dragonfly’ that does wonders for its dynamics. ‘Stoney Creek’ is the most rootsy track on here, and closing track ‘Empty Hours’ might just be the album’s highlight. It’s a dark, sparsely arranged ballad that leaves lots of space for Lyytinen’s awesomely melodic – and reverb-drenched – slide guitar work, as well as possibly her best vocal performance to date.

Erja Lyytinen is one of those artists who proves that taking a blues foundation and applying it to different styles of music is so much more interesting than being a staunch traditionalist when done well. She has proven it multiple times throughout her career, with her recent albums being the best examples of it. Sure, she deserves to be called the Finnish blues queen, but in my opinion, what she does best, and what she truly deserves an honorary title for, is being a songwriter who is completely open to guitar music of any kind. That is what makes her albums a joy to listen to.

Recommended tracks: ‘Dragonfly’, ‘Empty Hours’, ‘Abyss’, ‘Going to Hell’