What to make of Regina’s American debut? The Finnish band’s closest corollary for listeners outside Europe would probably be Sigur Ros — a band whose language is unfathomable, and whose music seems just as alien.

But while Sigur Ros’s Hopelandic and ethereal waves of sound lend their albums a sense of epic mystery, Regina is going after a whole different kind of foreign WTF? Ultimately, Puutarhatrilogia is a pretty strange dish, one that you’ve ordered off a menu written in eye-crossing Engrish. If you have a pretty adventurous palette, you might find some tastes you’re willing to experiment with here. But it’s likely you’ll find something you want to like, but that you’re probably never going to recommend to a friend.

Let’s be direct: Regina makes light, sexy pop. Their lead singer, Iisa Pykäri, has a lovely voice, and it suits all of the songs just fine. The trouble lies in the music, which is burdened with some awkward elements that often don’t quite gel. As a result, the album as a whole is pretty mixed.

Take “Terveiset päiväntasaajalta,” for instance (it might be easier to think of it as simply “Track Four”). It begins with a merry, casual bass line, with some keyboard backing that feels very ‘80s. Okay — the keyboards sound like an electronic flute, and the pop, well, it might stand out in a mall. Then, just after the one-minute mark, there’s a sudden random keyboard flourish that edges into very un-melodic, free-form jazz territory. The feeling that reoccurs on this album is that, just as you feel like you’ve “got” a song, it takes a direction that’s not only unpredictable (which is fine) but doesn’t quite seem to fit.

A lot of it is very loungey. “Sain levyt joita et halua kuunnella” has soft, pulsing beats, while “Tango merella” is driven by meandering piano lines that give it a vague bossa nova feel. Both would work as decent background music, and won’t get the party swinging.

Even the songs that are a little more propulsive never stray above a somewhat low ceiling of energy. “Sinun tassa salissa” simmers with a quiet lust, with what sound like bongos driving the beat, dancing around rapid lyrics and soaring calls that sound vaguely Asian. It’s certainly catchy and a stand-out, but whether it’ll stay on repeat on your iPod is another matter.

Final verdict: Puutarhatrilogia is interesting, but not necessarily in a compelling way.

(Friendly Fire Recordings, 330 Morgan Ave #306, Brooklyn, NY 11211)