Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Niet
Label: ZKP RTV Slovenija
Released: 2010
Length: 40:39
Rating: 3.5/5
Niet! Reactivated in 2008! First they sweep away the past and put out the compilation album »Bil je maj«, then comes the warm-up and maturing, and before 2008 is even over, the album “Izštekani na Valu 202”. Then 2010 rolls around, and we get a moment of eternity! The album »Trinajst« came out – the first real studio album from Niet, who until that day had released, in a tiny print run, only the cassette »Srečna mladina« (1984) more than a quarter of a century ago. That one is at best an EP.
Borut Marolt, who stepped into the shoes of the late Primož Habič, already proved himself a worthy replacement on both previous releases, and »Trinajst« confirms it. He did a great job; you could say his vocal presence is the factor that keeps the record afloat all the way through, from the opening second to the final fading note of the album.
The album is a nice mix of punk-rock pounding and melodic lines that mostly ride on a mid-tempo rhythmic chassis – and those melodies still squeal nicely enough, so nobody forgets while listening that they’re dealing with a punk rock album. One of the goals Niet set for themselves on »Trinajst« was to pour out their cult image, the one the songs of the eighties earned them. It’s an entirely logical decision, but still. The days of raging rivers of liquor and sacks of »white« are far behind them, and the “academic” years are increasingly moving to the foreground, when you’re unstoppably molting into a sage with a gray beard. So why cling to old patterns in the years of »rehabilitation«?
The notorious nihilism embodied by the opener Čas za revolucijo could well be the song »Heroj nove dobe«; the nihilism gallops with its middle finger flung high in the air, followed by the rattling Živalska farma, where Marolt’s growl gets more intense. The third album track, Tujca, wraps up the album’s rebellious vandalism, the punk rock hot-bloodedness of a band that has glanced back one last time, in passing, at its eighties adventure. Stres generacije joins this trio in part too, with a wild verse later on.
Most of the songs that follow stick to a mid-tempo pace. They sustain that melancholic post-punk veil that, in the Niet tradition, is shaped by the typical Slovenian pattern of »gloominess«. Dekle izza zamreženega okna could, after its jump into the chorus melody, be »the new Februar«, which means Niet have kept, on the new album too, the characteristic way of placing a melody within their punk rock craft. A Niet-style combination, then. That’s why »Trinajst« is a true Niet album. Ti in jaz in noč in večnost is the moment on the album where more elements of an old-school post-punk to shoegaze contour sneak into the music, especially in the contrast between the vocal and the thickened bass line, which takes precedence over the riffs of both guitars. Naj kri zalije ves svet is a wound-up, sped-up continuation of Ti in jaz in noč in večnost, which then peels away from it in a jump into Še en sončen dan. The third part of this piece is called Utrujen; the band just slightly turns two grips in the line and leads the triad Kri naj zalije ves svet/Še en sončen dan/Utrujen into a calm ending, where the guitar again ducks down a little and hands the lead line over to the bass.
Niet aren’t virtuosos when it comes to mastering their instruments. They never were and they never will be. Luckily they have Borut Činč in the studio, since the elder statesman of Slovenian rock music keeps steering and correcting them like a caring dad, so that no dodgy compositional fart accidentally sneaks onto the album. The riffing is very monotonous and samey on most songs. They feature straight lines built on three, four chords at most, spinning in a repetitively predictable 4/4 order. Niet’s music is therefore trivially solvable ,even for the most thick-skulled ears.
And yet. There are quite a few elements of bigger rescue work that keep the album interesting to listen to. The first factor is definitely Marolt’s vocal stance. The guy proves he’s cut from the right cloth for the new Niet. He often grabs onto deliberate dissonance in the manner of the old Habič school, runs a few verses through narrative, or just chopped off with no melody (the verse in Temni oblaki). His nihilistic escapades are also likable, especially packed in at the start of the album. Marolt’s interpretation is very important, as it breaks up the monotonous posture of the album’s guitar phrases – based on cycling three to four notes on a simple “square” of fifths, two-finger grips. Everyone will say: “Come on, this is Niet, you don’t need Einstein here, otherwise you won’t get Niet!«. True. And yet more demanding listeners will look for something more in the band’s whole new story. So besides Marolt’s hugely appealing vocal approach, the band has worked a few extra tricks into »Trinajst« that effectively loosen up the album’s development and the individual tracks. The inclusion of a children’s choir at the exit of Živalska farma is one of these tricks. Flirting with the Vijolice string quartet, carried over from the album »Izštekani« onto Beli prah, is another. Then there are added special effects, like the wail of a siren in the intro of Stres generacije, and the opening string arrangement in Ljubezenska romanca. And last but not least, there’s the indispensable touch of Činč’s Hammond B3 organ (Ljubezenska romanca, Škrati in gosenice, Na drugo stran). The melodies can even be doubled with backing harmonies and it’s very likable (Škrati in gosenice). All of this hints at the band’s potential growth on future studio efforts.
A song like Ljubezenska romanca is an example of the ideal combination of punk dilettantism and a spot-on darkwave-ish fast tempo with a catchy melodicism woven in, where Činč’s keyboards masterfully enrich the song’s final arrangement contour. Towards the end, the dark Škrati in gosenice delivers a similar experience, even featuring a pre-chorus passage. Both songs are the arrangement high points of the album and a fitting jumping-off point from which the band can develop its musical expression, unburdened, in the future!
The album is a “Slovenian” rock album from the music “underground”, it doesn’t get more “Slovenian” than this! Just look at the album’s concept, never mind the music itself, and it’s immediately clear. The main hero raises a rebellious cry and realizes he’s alone. He builds a wall around himself, isolates himself, and in the end can’t find a way out anymore. So he commits suicide (Na drugo stran). But before that, high on “white” or “brown” (the choice is left to you, dear readers), he doesn’t forget to send his “junkie” girlfriend off to the happy hunting grounds too, thus cutting short her torment of pointlessly waking up in the cruel world of reality. Typically Slovenian, no? If something doesn’t suit us, we commit suicide or simply – move out of the country, preferably far away.
With their studio debut, Niet have put out an album that’s, first and foremost, a very cautious one. It’s a quality testament to a comeback that settled things with the past with some elegance, so the band can now look ahead to the road in front of them with the wind fully in their sails. Still, going forward the cult status symbol of Niet’s music will need shaking up, the one that, with the folk-hit “underground hits” of the eighties, ate its way into the Slovenian subconscious. The guys are mature men, so they surely crave interesting, creatively arranged challenges. Working with Činč is definitely saving their skin here, and Borut Marolt hasn’t shown all his vocal chops yet either. We’ll see what the future brings. The album is a nice new beginning for a band, but its successor will absolutely have to top it artistically. Likable, decent, credible in every way, “Niet-style”, but with no standouts.
Line-up
Borut Marolt – vocals
Igor Dernovšek – guitar
Robert Likar – guitar
Aleš Češnovar – bass guitar, backing vocals
Tomaž Bergant “Breht” – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Borut Činč – Hammond B3 organ on tracks 8, 11 and 12, piano on track 9
Severa Gjurin – vocals on track 9
“Vijolice” string quartet – strings on tracks 8 and 9
Pevski zbor OŠ Litija – choir vocals on track 2
Production
Borut Činč
Track list
1. Čas za revolucijo
2. Živalska farma
3. Tujca
4. Dekle izza zamreženega okna
5. Ti in jaz in noč in večnost
6. Naj kri zalije ves svet – Še en sončen dan – Utrujen
7. Stres generacije
8. Ljubezenska romanca
9. Beli prah
10. Temni oblaki
11. Škrati in gosenice
12. Na drugo stran
13. Trinajst
