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Big Beat Magazine
BIG BEAT – ENGLISH TRANSLATION
English translation of the original Big Beat (3/2026) review by Mikke Nöjd.
3RD CALL MEN: Waiting For A Call
(Grande Records LP/CD GR 002)
Chased By Time, Hoodoo Against Your Voodoo, Chord That Never Came, Mr Johnson's Lucky Pie, How Can You Miss, A.I. Leafer, Al Dante, Almost A Man, Dicco Sniffin' Boogie, The One That Got Away
3rd Call Men make an impressive debut by releasing their first album on LP, CD and digital platforms. The band consists of Pete Bergman (guitar and vocals), Gona Lehtinen (guitar), Jan "Smöde" Smedberg (bass) and Sauli Karhu (drums).
This four-piece has far more than just one trick up its sleeve, surprising the listener so many times that you might expect almost anything to happen at one of their gigs. When it comes to material, the band is entirely self-sufficient: all the tracks were written by singer-guitarist Bergman. The recordings were made under the direction of Tomi Leino at Suprovox Studios.
The album's diverse contents bring to mind psych, garage, Link Wray, Jimi Hendrix, plenty of hard-rocking ingredients, surf, acid rock, funk and even pop. Evoking images and associations is always a definite plus, and there is certainly no shortage of them while listening to this album. The record doesn't simply rock at full throttle or resort to easy solutions; instead, there is plenty here to discover and return to.
The aggressively charged opening pair immediately make their intentions clear. "Chased By Time" crosses psych and garage with a healthy dose of attitude.
Set to a distinctive bouncing beat, "Hoodoo Against Your Voodoo" brings together rockabilly and psychedelia.
The psycho-rumba of "Mr Johnson's Lucky Pie" is manic, catchy and strangely fascinating. "Chord That Never Came" heads for an entirely different wavelength with its unhurried, pop-tinged approach. Rough-edged yet beautiful, this song would fit perfectly on the radio.
Another surprise comes with "How Can You Miss," where the guys smoothly shift into blues mode. The atmosphere is powerful, even moving.
Halfway through the album, the band simply shifts into a higher gear and lets rip. "A.I. Leafer" turns into some nasty funk, a full-on celebration of fuzz guitar. The action is mean, but above all it flows effortlessly. More funk — this time with the revs turned up — can be found on "Al Dante," whose swinging rhythm quickly grabs hold of the listener. There is boogie too, but even there the musicians have a few tricks up their sleeves. "Dicco Sniffin' Boogie" doesn't bulldoze its way through anything, but it certainly swings like hell.
The pace of "Almost A Man" leaves you breathless, and despite its Hendrix flavours, the track never turns into an exercise in guitar heroics. The airy, slightly poppy bounce of "The One That Got Away" gently brings the pulse back down and gives the album a warm, easy-going ending.
With their debut album, 3rd Call Men really put themselves on the line by blending a wide range of different styles. Despite its many ingredients, the end result is cohesive, consistent and natural.
— Mikke Nöjd / Big Beat, Finland
Translated from the original Finnish review.