Built around the pulsing, hard-driving groove of bassist Jonne Savela, Finland’s Getšemane are ostensibly a progressive rock act rooted in the early seventies; however if you’re a fan of late night, beret-wearing excursions into the worlds of beat poetry and, dare I say it, Jazz, then there’s plenty on their new album Viimaa that’s going to get you hot under the collar…

Joking aside, the band’s invigorating mashup of worlds – Charles Mingus meets Sergio Mendes via Jethro Tull on the title track, for instance – is pretty hard to resist. Progressive in the truest sense, this is music that stretches you as a listener, demanding your full attention just to keep up with what’s going on. Raskaan sarjan viheltäjä finds the band hurling krautrock and Deep Purple in their earliest incarnations into the mix – just because they can, you presume – with the honking, wailing sax of Sami Sippola taking centre stage in jubilant fashion as Markus Nokelainen flails away on the kit like a Finnish Octopod.

Pekuri sings in the band’s native tongue over the top of it all, adding another level of mystique to the Anglo ear as if all the musical sophistication wasn’t enough. At times it’s all a bit overwhelming to the untutored listener; but if you are prepared to invest even a fraction of the time in this record that the musicians have evidently spent in creating Viimaa then the rewards are great. And if you really only came here for the loud guitars, well… it has to be said that Sami Koivisto‘s got you covered there as well, adding intelligent, flexible thunder to the band in the style of the severely underrated Martin Barre. The way he stretches out and takes his solo on Kuilun partaalla is an absolute joy to behold, as is the way he slips back into a supporting role and allows Sippola to take off again directly after, locking in with Savela in a funky powerhouse of adroit playing and superb teamwork. Nokelainen, too, is all over this track, and the combined efforts of all involved go towards creating one of the most memorable seven minutes of music you’ll hear in a long, long while.

Viimaa is out now