On The Wing

Birds, break-ups, big choruses and the Charlie Chaplin effect can all be found on In Murmuration, the ninth album from Finland's Von Hertzen Brothers. But as they embrace their power pop influences, have the Finns cast off their prog wizard cloaks once and for all? Mikko von Hertzen talks about the Seattle influence, songwriting secrets and sax solos.

- David West

“It’s always hard to predict the mood of the Brothers when we start a new project,” says Mikko von Hertzen. Yet the Von Hertzen Brothers – Kie the eldest, Mikko in the middle and Jonne the youngest – seem to be in a very upbeat mood on their ninth album. The trio’s sound has always spanned a range of influences, but with In Murmuration they’ve blended their prog stylings with a generous shot of sunny power pop.

“The basic root of the band is very much in 70s rock, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Queen, Led Zeppelin,” says Mikko. But alongside the pantheon of British rock royalty, as teenagers the brothers encountered American power pop and Seattle garage rock through bands like Big Star, The Posies and Dinosaur Jr.

“We were 18 to 21 years old, and we were very much affected by that,” says Mikko. “That lingered in the background and every now and then it pops up in our music. If you look at ’90 to ’94, it was full of great albums, like [Red Hot Chili Peppers’] Blood Sugar Sex Magik, everything that came out of Seattle [including] Soundgarden with the two best albums they made. We were sponges, taking everything in from what we heard on MTV.”

With its bouncy riffs, effervescent energy, and a notable lack of extended instrumental sections, In Murmuration feels closest in spirit to 2013’s Nine Lives rather than their prog-heavy recent outings.

“I would say that War Is Over, in 2017, was a really epic prog rock thing,” says Mikko, “whereas in 2022 when Red Alert In The Blue Forest came out, that was very pandemic era – thoughtful, slow, long songs. It was more laid-back, contemplative in a way. With this album, we felt like it would be so fun to have something which is a little happier with riffs, good choruses, shorter songs. It’s like a reaction to what we’ve done just before.”