Sadu repeats its folk-pop formula on second album

Estonian band Sadu largely sticks to its established sound on its second album, Teine vaatus, despite flashes of a more adventurous approach, ERR reviewer Neit-Eerik Nestor writes. ERR gave the self-released album a score of 4 out of 10.

The album’s most prominently presented single, Laulu.seest.välja.ei.saa, initially raised hopes of a broader musical shift. Its bagpipe part runs throughout the track, alongside EDM-style vocal effects and high-pitched siren-like sounds. The result is detailed and layered, but the rest of the album does not follow through on that promise.

Instead, most tracks return to the band’s folk-pop approach, familiar from its earlier album Probleemid paradiisis, with variations shaped by each song’s theme or genre references. Nuga.selga, for example, could be a Cyprus Eurovision entry, while Läbi.lillede mixes folk-song verses with romantic Vaiko Eplik-like touches. Tänasesse.usku and Meie.aja.kuulsaim.piraaditar veer into comic-song territory, with production that sounds unexpectedly cartoonish.

Sadu is at its most compelling when it steps outside that established style or places it in a different context. Laulu.seest.välja.ei.saa and the chorus of Põua offer examples, but these moments are brief. The band has a clear ear for choruses, and its vocalists know how to make them soar. The contrast between Sofia-Liis Liiv’s soft voice and Sandra Sillamaa’s rougher tone adds interest.

Nestor also points to the first album’s Läbi roosipõõsaste, where folk elements served more as seasoning than as the main course. Liiv led that track, and the reviewer says her voice suggests there may be sides of her artistry that Sadu’s music does not accommodate.

Despite its many references, Teine vaatus pushes much of its material into a similar mould, creating repetition across an album that is not especially long. After several listens, Nestor says, many of the individual songs are hard to recall; instead, a general idea of what a Sadu song sounds like comes to mind. That may show the band has established a distinct sound, but it may also mean its changes to the formula are only superficial.

The review’s final paragraph is incomplete in the source text.