Label: ZKP RTV Slovenija
Released: 2016
Production: Mirko Vuksanovič & David Šuligoj
Album length: 44.38 min.
Genre: Art Rock / Pop
After 34 years of non-stop activity, Nova Gorica’s Avtomobili are delivering their 10th studio album to the scene. The refreshed lineup has been tightening its bonds since 2008. Sure, original material comes slowly to them, but both the predecessor “Pozna pomlad” (2012) and now the new “Daleč” are fruits of the exceptional artistic maturity Avtomobili are famous for, as unique heralds of their craft. Even though their back catalog of easygoing evergreens is still a staple of Slovenian radio playlists today, a touch of eclecticism has always clung to their musical language. And “Daleč” (meaning “far”) certainly doesn’t “go too far” — it stays “close” and sounds like home. Once again Avtomobili nurture and build on the element of musical uniqueness with real maturity, while keeping every recognizable trait of their one-of-a-kind musical ID card.
In terms of arrangements, the songs feel more focused than on their predecessor, which is hardly surprising. The album is graced with a relaxed catchiness that quickly grows on the listener, without the tense and dramatic moods, at times dark, that were a notable trait of the more experimental predecessor. Four years is a nice interval for unburdened, spontaneous development of new ideas, and the quintet, in the same lineup that recorded “Pozna pomlad”, has grown even tighter in its mutual bonds.
The band brings woodwinds back into the arrangements, which is nothing new for them, since the original Avtomobili lineup already included a saxophonist. The album also features a seriously appealing acoustic violin solo by Rok Golob, in the song Pekel v raju. Thanks to its infectious, singable chorus, that song irreversibly smells of the band’s evergreen hits from the first half of the nineties. On the title track, Severa Gjurin joins Marko in a duet. The song is spiced up and livened by Bushi’s lead guitar embellishments. That is, Rok and Severa. They had already been put to the test as special guests at the band’s concert in Cankarjev dom on October 5, 2012, where a spark of real chemistry must have jumped between Avtomobili and both guests, and the guys carried it over onto the album “Daleč”.
The album retains Avtomobili’s signature expressive character. The main ingredients stay in place: Marko’s vocal performance and the specific color of his voice, his hypersensitive poetry and depth of message, and the sensual refinement of his interpretation. It’s exactly this poetry, paired with the garment of the lead melodies’ development, that guarantees a dose of atmosphere and constant longing. What’s more, the moods occasionally conjure a moment of mysticism, which actually makes Avtomobili unique in Slovenian art rock and pop culture. “Daleč” is not as serious an album as its predecessor. Nor does it have the “darkly brooding” moments that were typical of some parts of “Pozna pomlad”. In that respect the new album as a whole sounds brighter and more optimistic. The first part unfolds in an instantly radio-friendly way, with the groundwork laid by the opener Stopinje v snegu (a danceable, light, hook-hungry little tune, with keyboards that sound like the eighties) and, right after it, the title track, where Šuligoj’s opening bass guitar phrase noticeably cuts through the fabric of the arrangement, and where Severa and Marko create a really appealing contrasting vocal duet. The signature backdrop of the musical recipe à la Avtomobili is thus established in an instant. That feeling is reinforced even more by the intensely calm Mladost, the longest track on the album, where the band thoroughly airs out the arrangements for the first time, including with tasteful use of woodwinds. In this song the band’s exceptionally sensitive side, as a whole, really sparkles for the first time, and a subtle breeze of jazzy dialogue between the instruments sneaks into the song’s format.
The song Na sever is Bushi’s songwriting debut for Avtomobili. It boasts an extraordinary shift of moods in the contrast between verse and chorus structure. The contrasting layout of the soundscape works wonders here. Šuligoj makes great use of the space with melodic weaving of bass lines, which gives organic warmth and strengthens the song’s rhythmic kinetics. Morgan, especially in the verse and the mid-eight passage, briefly transforms into Stewart Copeland (The Police, Curved Air) and enriches the basic rhythm with jazzy finesse. Mirko’s keyboards brew that potion of mystique and grandeur, tying the arrangements together like an invisible atmospheric envelope. Woven through all of this is Bushi’s almost esoteric-sounding guitar, which for the first time on the album rings out more noticeably rock, yet is worked into the arrangements in a way that keeps the balance among the elements of the soundscape. Marko remains Marko. One of a kind and inimitable. With his charismatic vocals he adds that striking uniqueness to this song too! I’ve deliberately broken down the individual building blocks of the soundscape here so you get a sense of how sensitively the band members communicate with each other, because you’ll gradually discover many similar parallels on this album yourselves, piece by piece.
The yearning Vrni me nazaj carries real eighties sentiment, Reka right after it feeds that feeling and somehow evokes the energy of the opening Stopinje v snegu, and Če si rojen stands shoulder to shoulder with them in that respect, and so does, especially, the already mentioned chorus of Pekel v raju (with a playful funky tune in the verse). Even though the band is devoted to the search for melodic perfection, it likes to slip chords into the lead phrases (even a jazzy variation derived from the basic ones) that steer the melody away from the expected development (e.g. the chorus of Če si rojen). That’s a big strength, with which Avtomobili effortlessly steer clear of potential clichés. It’s also a guarantee of their uniqueness. Avtomobili remain great craftsmen of their musical trade!
It’s easy to say that Vedel si is the artistic peak of the album “Daleč”. A real drama, an atmospheric theater with an exceptional arrangement of soundscape building blocks. In the intro, the contrast between the firm snare hits of the drums and the mystical dialogue of keyboard and guitar phrasing grabs your attention, while the band gradually and triumphantly builds the dramatic mood toward the chorus crescendo. This is a song with which Avtomobili could have closed the album “Daleč” very effectively. Instead they chose Ni več umika, where the amount of decibels in the guitar riff inside the chorus shoots up and the song develops with more noticeable rock rhetoric. The dramatic mood of the song’s closing section is enhanced by an erotic saxophone solo. As far as the poetry itself goes, too, Ni več umika takes first place on the album. It’s Marko’s thoroughly sincere, personal, confessional note, which closes the album “Daleč” in grand style. So, one more wonderful song right at the end of the album.
On this album the band will have a considerably easier time choosing among songs that could bring a potential radio hit, compared with the otherwise excellent predecessor “Pozna pomlad”. So there’s a noticeable artistic difference between the two albums! “Daleč” grows (as a whole) slowly again, but it grows noticeably faster than its predecessor “Pozna pomlad”, which also knew experimental excursions (the title track). The songs as a whole are more melodic and sound more compact. The band’s leading creative nucleus, represented of course by the Vuksanovič brothers, can’t and won’t hide. We got a set of ten excellent songs with the organic sonic warmth of analog production. That’s why the album “Daleč” simply has to be listened to as a whole, from the first track to the last. It unfolds in the glow of the great artistic brilliance of seasoned, experienced masters. It sounds light, even though it’s filigree-detailed and woven from many short but concise strokes, which once again mirror, very effectively, the unique confessional art culture of this legendary band. The Ministry of Culture should have protected their body of work with a decree long ago, as a Slovenian cultural monument. “Daleč” is a new confessional milestone for the band, proving that Avtomobili, in the mature era of their creativity and with a refreshed lineup, keep growing artistically and maturing in their expression, and are even more concise and musically even more distinctive.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
score: 9.0 / 10
Track list:
1. Stopinje v snegu
2. Daleč
3. Mladost
4. Na sever
5. Vrni me
6. Reka
7. Če si rojen
8. Vedel si
9. Pekel v raju
10. Ni več umika
Lineup:
Marko Vuksanovič – vocals
Mirko Vuksanovič – keyboards
Boštjan Andrejc “Bushi” – electric guitar, mandolin (track 1), banjo (track 1), backing vocals, whistling (track 1)
David Šuligoj – bass guitar, backing vocals, whistling (track 1)
David Morgan – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Denis Beganovich Kiki – trombone on tracks 3 and 7.
Mitja Bobič – trumpet on track 7
Severa Gjurin – vocals on track 2
Rok Golob – violin on track 9
Jan Šepetavec – tenor saxophone on tracks 7 and 10.
