Pirttijärvi is a former member of the Sami folk-pop group Angelin Tytot, where she sang a mixture of joiks (shamanistic vocals from the Sami regions of Scandinavia) and light-weight folk songs accompanied by guitars and frame drums. This is a whole different thing, and with the production and musical backing of Frode Fjellheim and his band Transjoik, she is given a much broader palette to draw her colors from. She has a simple voice: direct, never flashy or forced. Neither angelic nor demonic, her voice works on an earthly plane of clear highs and strong mid-range tones. It"s a strong production--full of whispering electronics, clear percussion, and a scattering of bass and electric guitar; and a few tracks include saxophone from the excellent Swedish horn player Jonas Knutsson. Pirttijärvi evades the more aggressive delivery of her more famous joiking compatriot Wimme, going for gentle persuasion instead of insistence. With the help of this excellent backing ensemble, she gets her message across. --Louis Gibson