THE MOMENT when a band gets truly interesting usually comes once they forget what they were supposed to be doing. Instead they start doing what they need to be doing.

That’s what’s happening with the Helsinki based Damn Seagulls.

On their second album ”Soul Politics” the band is all over the place. They are punk enough not to get stuck just playing punk. The songs are filled with shameless pop sensibility. They can rock out when necessary. Soul is not only a word in the title.

Sometimes you need big words to get the idea through. Damn Seagulls is in a situation not totally different from where The Clash stood on their musical breakthrough album London Calling, or Afghan Whigs on theirs, Congregation.

Like their predecessors the Damn Seagulls is breaking out of the contemporary scene to make something of their own. Sure it’d be easier to climb on a bandwagon of post-punk, emo or whatever happens to be the flavor of the month but who said playing in a rock band should be easy? It can be more.

The first single of the album ”The Beat” shows the most ambitious side of the band in a disguise of a classic pop song. Heavy use of horns and piano makes one wonder if these kids live under an illusion that they are born again E Street Band from the outskirts of Helsinki.

Ten songs in 40 minutes. Quality over quantity. Just like a classic album should be.

WHILE IN THEIR early 20’s the members of Damn Seagulls are already veterans in the Helsinki scene. The band started out eleven years ago as a group of close friends and they still remain just that.

After countless of shows and tons of hours honing their sound at the rehearsals the band felt ready for their debut album ”One Night at Sirdie’s” in 2005. While it caught a young band in full energy it pawed the way for the versatility of ”Soul Politics”.

At the moment their recreating their sound and getting ready to begin the recordings of their self-produced third album due out early next year.