Finnish guitar goddess Erja Lyytinen returns with her latest studio album, Smell the Roses. The record follows in the footsteps of the artist’s latest live album, “20 Years of Blues Rock!” which was released at the close of 2024.
Now twenty years since the release of Erja’s debut solo album, Wildflower the Queen of the Slide Guitar is firing on all cylinders. The poetic title track is an infectious slice of blues rock with a potent message and a catchy riff. The track illustrates the evolution of Erja’s sound into territories above and beyond her traditional blues/rock space and sets the tone for the remainder of this astonishing release.
The title track is followed by Going to Hell. This is a song in which Erja’s opening guitar licks immediately grab your attention, whilst simultaneously showcasing the artist’s virtuoso playing. The song sits on the more progressive rock side of the Lyytinen’s repertoire, with jazzy undertones and flurries of fiery fretwork which will excite the listener.
With a song title like Abyss, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that the song and the theme of the track are going to be heavy. In fact, Abyss is possibly the heaviest song that Erja has ever recorded. The drop tuning underpins the artist’s monstrous riffs. It’s a track which will inevitably be a live favourite and one of the many stand-out songs on the record.
The ethereal sounds of Dragonfly, with its broody undertones and toe-tapping rhythm, provide a pallet cleanser following the gargantuan rocker that is Abyss.
For fans of Erja’s slide guitar playing, The Ring is just for you. The song screams potential show opener, with its up-tempo slide guitar flurries. It’s the type of song which cements exactly why Erja Lyytinen received her ‘Queen of the Slide Guitar’ moniker.
As we head into the last three tracks of this nine-song release, Ball and Chain is a number which is catchier than a common cold. The chorus simply stays with you for days – not that we are complaining.
Stoney Creek is one of the songs on the album which showcases more of a traditional blues sound, during what is a brooding, atmospheric number with Americana-based undertones. It’s a track which further highlights the development of Erja’s sound.
Sadly, like all good things, they must come to an end and on this occasion, the album comes to a close with Empty Hours. A further stand-out track, which is packed full of emotive playing and provides a spellbinding close to perhaps Erja Lyytinen’s best studio album to date.
With Erja Lyytinen’s latest album, the only smell she will be encountering is the smell of success.
Review by Adam Kennedy
